Video shows local political candidate arrested at Miami-Dade restaurant

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Florida – Witnesses reported that a local political candidate slapped a teenager and choked another in public at a restaurant Sunday in Miami-Dade County.

George Bardmesser, a Russian-American lawyer running for Sunny Isles Beach commissioner, was arrested after the alleged attack at his neighborhood Cuban restaurant.

Sunny Isles Beach police officers went to El Tropico Cuban Cuisine, 17020 Collins Ave., and handcuffed Bardness, 59, who was wearing a shirt promoting his campaign.

“There were two young people sitting there and I don’t know if they provoked the situation, if they said something, if they pushed this gentleman to get up. He choked one of the young people and slapped another one,” said Pedro Vera, the restaurant’s owner. “He lost control. This should never have happened.”

Bardmesser sent an invitation Saturday to a Republican coffee meet-up with Greg Capra, another local candidate, at 2 p.m. Sunday at the restaurant.

“We welcome all residents, coffee and light snacks will be provided for guests,” he wrote. “I look forward to seeing you there and discussing our ideas and vision for the future.”

Fabiola Stuyvesant, a Venezuelan-American police officer in Sunny Isles Beach, attended the meeting with the teens Bardmesser allegedly assaulted.

“I would never take my kids to a political event if I thought I would put them in danger,” Stuyvesant said. “As a parent, that’s the worst nightmare you can have — to see your child get hurt by a big guy.”

Miami-Dade County inmate records show that corrections officers arrested Bardmesser, who is about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs about 230 pounds, around 4:35 p.m. Sunday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Facility near Doral.

Records show Bardmesser was charged with two counts of child abuse without serious bodily harm. Records show a Miami-Dade judge had not yet set his bail as of Sunday night.

The documents also show that Bardmesser, who specializes in intellectual property law, has been a member of the New York State Bar since 1998. He was also a member of the District of Columbia Bar. He is also the author of fiction books in English and Russian.

Sunny Isles Beach, where Bardmesser lives in a luxury beachfront condo, is nicknamed “Little Moscow” because of its growing Russian-American population.

Local 10 News Editor Mercedes Cevallo contributed to this report.