MIAMI BEACH, FL. (THECOUNT) — Former mayor and Democratic candidate for Florida governor, Andrew Gillum has announced he is entering rehab of alcohol abuse after being involved in a suspected crystal meth overdose incident Friday at a hotel in Miami Beach.
Gillum, 40, and two other men were inside the hotel room when Miami Beach Fire Rescue crews were called before 1 a.m. Friday regarding a suspected drug overdose, According to officials.
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In a statement, Gillum said:
“Since my race for governor ended, I fell into a depression that has led to alcohol abuse,” he said, pledging to work to “heal fully and show up in the world as a more complete person.”
Gillum said he would be stepping down from “all public facing roles” at this time.
“I want to apologize to my family, friends and the people of Florida who have supported me and put their faith in me over the years,” he added, requesting privacy for his family.
In an earlier statement after the police report became public, Gillum said that he was in Miami Beach for a wedding and did not use illegal drugs.
“While I had too much to drink, I want to be clear that I have never used methamphetamines,” Gillum, 40, said earlier. “I apologize to the people of Florida for the distraction this has caused for our movement,” reports NBCNEWS on Monday morning.
According to the police report, officers who responded to the hotel tried to speak with Gillum but he was too inebriated.
According to the report, one of the men, Aldo Mejias, 56, told officers that he gave Travis Dyson, 30, his credit card information to rent a hotel room for the night. Police said Dyson rented the room around 4 p.m. Thursday and Mejias arrived at the room later that night, at which time he found Dyson and Gillum inside the hotel room, appearing to be under the influence of an unknown substance, reports Local10.
According to the police report, Dyson opened the hotel room door and then immediately walked to the bed and collapsed in a prone position.
Dyson was having difficulty breathing and began vomiting on the bed before collapsing a second time, the report stated.
Fire Rescue personnel transported Dyson to Mount Sinai Medical Center in stable condition.
They returned to the hotel to check on Gillum, who authorities said was stable and whose vitals stabilized.
According to the police report, officers found three small clear bags inside the hotel room containing suspected crystal meth.
The suspected narcotics were impounded as evidence.
DEVELOPING::
Geo quick facts: Miami Beach is a south Florida island city, connected by bridges to mainland Miami. Wide beaches stretch from North Shore Open Space Park, past palm-lined Lummus Park to South Pointe Park. The southern end, South Beach, is known for its international cachet with models and celebrities, and its early-20th-century architecture in the Art Deco Historic district with pastel-colored buildings, especially on Ocean Drive – wikipedia.