Sunny Isles Beach commission candidate accused of putting teen in chokehold

MIAMI - A man running for a seat on the Sunny Isles Beach commission was arrested Sunday after he reportedly assaulted two teens in a Cuban restaurant.

During a political event he hosted at the El Tropical on Collins Avenue, George Bardmesser was seated at a table with his constituents when he got into an argument with several "opposition leaders" seated at a table next to him, according to the arrest report.

As the argument grew more heated, Bardmesser, 59, put a teen into a chokehold, according to police who reviewed the restaurant's surveillance video.

Several others in the restaurant then intervened, separating Bardmesser from the teen.

Bardmesser then got into a shoving match and hit another teen in the face, according to the surveillance video.

Several people in the restaurant then flagged down a police officer on patrol. In a cellphone video, those in the restaurant can be heard accusing Bardmesser of hitting a child.

Bardmesser was arrested and taken into custody. He's been charged with two counts of child abuse with no great bodily harm.

Sebastian Suels, 15, told CBS News Miami he was in the restaurant with his teenage friends having lunch when the incident happened.

"One of the ladies in the red dress started arguing with us and George got really mad and he stood up, so I was standing between him and my friend and he goes around and grabs my friend by the neck and starts choking him. Then everyone gets pushed around and I am with my friend and I tell him to calm down because he was upset that he got choked and I see George running around and he hit my friend in the face and he was taken outside by police," he said.

"I was scared. I was worried, I did not know what was happening or why this happened," he added.

"I feel very bad. This is a new low for Sunny Isles Beach. What upsets me is that I am worried about the safety of my child, my community and myself," said Suels' mother, Sunny Isles Beach Commissioner Fabiola Stuyvesant.

Pedro Vera, the owner of the restaurant, shared a video with CBS News Miami, saying "He got up and he tried to strangle one kid and when others came to the aid of the youngster, he slapped the other kid. This is something that should not be permitted, the abuse of a child."

Cell phone video from the restaurant also shows Bardmesser yelling at his opponent, Commissioner Jerry Joseph, saying "Get…out of here Jerry. We don't want you here."

In bond court, Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer found probable cause for the charges and ordered Bardmesser to have no contact with the teenagers.

"I am entering a stay away order for the alleged victims whose initials are M.G. And A.G.,"
said Glazer and set a $5,000 bond.