He made headlines as the ?chimi colonel? after being expelled from the National Police in April 2002 for abusing his power. Police Colonel Juan Francisco Rodriguez Ruiz was dismissed when he arrested a vendor at an Elvis hamburger stand on Avenida Tiradentes who refused to sell to the colonel before clients who were before him in line. When Julio Felix Medina did not give preference to him, the colonel ordered his arrest by eight motorized AMET officers. He also arrested Juan Garcia, one of the clients who protested the vendor?s arrest. At the time, Diario Libre?s journalistic investigation uncovered a long list of abuses at the hands of Rodriguez Ruiz, including the assault of three judges in La Vega.
Today, Diario Libre reports that the infamous colonel was rehired, however, this time by the Army. Diario Libre reports he is an executive officer at the Fourth Infantry Brigade in Mao, a city in the northwest.