Miami Beach Police were called in response to an apparent drug overdose of a man in a hotel where Andrew Gillum, a graduate of Florida A&M University, was found, according to a police report.
He was “inebriated” and “unable to communicate with officers” at the time, the report said. Meth was also recovered. But Gillum claims that he has never used the drug before.
He works for CNN as a political commentator since January 2019. In addition, he ran unsuccessfully for the governor of Florida in 2018, losing a close race to Republican Ron DeSantis.
From ABC News:
Former Florida Democratic candidate for governor Andrew Gillum is named in a police report Friday saying he was “inebriated” and initially unresponsive in a hotel room where authorities found baggies of suspected crystal methamphetamine.
Gillum, the former Tallahassee mayor who ran for governor in 2018, is not charged with any crime. The Miami Beach police report says Gillum was allowed to leave the hotel for home after he was checked out medically.
Gillum, 40, said in a statement 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 said. “I apologize to the people of Florida for the distraction this has caused for our movement.”
According to police, fire rescue crews were called to the Miami Beach hotel around 1 a.m. Friday regarding a suspected drug overdose. Police say Gillum and two other men were in the hotel room.
“Mr. Gillum was unable to communicate due to his inebriated state,” the police report says.
Police say one of the men came into the hotel room and found Gillum and Travis Dyson, 30, apparently under the influence of an “unknown substance.” Officials began chest compressions on Dyson and he was taken to a local hospital, where authorities say he is in stable condition.
Gillum, meanwhile, had stable medical signs when authorities returned for a welfare check and was allowed to leave the hotel for home, the police report says.
Gillum was the first black nominee in a major political party to run for governor in Florida. He lost narrowly to Republican Ron DeSantis in the 2018 election.
