Following a gunfight with individuals who hijacked the UPS driver in 2019, four Florida police officers have been charged with manslaughter. The deaths of the UPS driver and a bystander occurred during this battle.
In relation to the Dec. 5, 2019, murders of UPS driver Frank Ordonez, 27, and Richard Cutshaw, 70, who was driving nearby, a grand jury indicted Miami-Dade County officer Rodolfo Mirabal, 39, on two charges of manslaughter with a firearm, Broward County prosecutors announced on Saturday.
In connection with Ordonez’s death, Officers Jose Mateo, 32, Richard Santiesteban, 33, and Leslie Lee, 57, were indicted for manslaughter with a firearm; however, they are not being prosecuted in connection with Cutshaw’s death.
According to the Miami Herald, Lee resigned three years ago, and Santiesteban was let away. Mirabal and Mateo are still employed by Miami-Dade police.
Lamar Alexander, 41, and Ronnie Jerome Hill, 41, were hijackers and cousins; none of the police faced charges in connection with their murders.
After the indictments were released more than a week ago, the policemen turned themselves in to the Broward Sheriff’s Office on Friday and Saturday. They were freed without posting bail.
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The policemen could get a maximum penalty of 30 years if found guilty.
The months-long grand jury procedures and the years-long state inquiry, according to Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor, were required “to ensure we get answers for the victims’ families and the community.”
“Deciding whether to use deadly force is among the most serious and consequential decisions a police officer can make,” Pryor stated in a press release. “We understand that these decisions are often made during intense and uncertain circumstances.”
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A earlier statement from Miami-Dade police stated that it “respects the legal process.”
Last week, the indictment was questioned by the union that stands in for the cops.
“South Florida Police Benevolent Association president Steadman Stahl said in a statement, ‘We’re extremely disappointed that these officers are finding themselves indicted for something they had seconds to decide, after almost five years.” “It sends a chilling effect to officers in Broward County.”
Following a chase by many police agencies, a gunfight broke out during rush hour on a roadway in the suburban Fort Lauderdale, Florida area.
There were perhaps 20 police officers there, however it’s still unknown how many of them shot the hijackers, who had been firing at them while they were being pursued.
When police arrived, Alexander and Hill were allegedly inside the Regent Jewelers store in the Coral Gables area of Miami, robbing it and firing firearms. A ricocheting bullet hit a store employee in the head, injuring him during the event.
While Ordonez was delivering packages nearby, the criminals absconded from the store and stole his vehicle. The two then took police on a protracted pursuit into southern Broward County, during which Ordonez was still inside the van and they opened fire on them.
After becoming stuck behind a line of cars at a red light, the suspects eventually came to a stop in the middle lane of a busy crossroads.
Officers were running between automobiles and approached the van when the firing started. Cutshaw was discovered dead in his vehicle, while Alexander, Hill, and Ordonez perished inside the van.
It is unknown from the investigation if Cutshaw and Ordonez were shot by the suspects, the police, or both.
There have only been three incidents of Florida law enforcement officers being charged with an on-duty killing in the previous forty years, making it uncommon. Only one officer has been found guilty out of those.