one of the policeaccused of kidnapping and beating a homeless Cuban in Hialeah could face life in prison.
This Tuesday the jury began deliberating after hearing the final arguments in the case of Rafael Otaño, accused of beating the homeless Cuban José Ortega Gutiérrez and covering it up while working as a Hialeah police officer on December 17,the news channel reportedLocal 10.
“They specifically took it to a landfill and treated it like garbage. They violated their rights, they betrayed this community,” said Miami-Dade County Assistant State Attorney Shawn Abuhoff, who is prosecuting the case.
For his part, defense attorney Michael Pizzi maintains that the accusation is based on the testimony of someone who lied and could not recognize himself during cross-examination in court.
Last Thursday, three officers from the Hialeah Police Department had testified against Otaño.
Javier Barrios, Otaño's supervisor on the day of the beating, and Detective Hilda Nubia Reyes confirmed that Otaño did not report Ortega Gutiérrez's arrest and did not include it in his daily report.
For his part, Officer Jeffrey Abascal, who accompanied the two accused from another patrol car to the bakery where the arrest was made, said he looked for Ortega Gutiérrez, took his wallet and gave it to Orfila before getting into his patrol car.
Otaño could face life in prison if the jury finds him guilty of kidnapping.
In June,Ortega Gutiérrez reiterated his accusation when testifying against Otaño, who is also accused of assault.
Ortega Gutiérrez, 50, testified that on December 17, both former agents handcuffed him, kidnapped him and took him to a remote area of Miami-Dade to beat him.
"They said: 'Let's go for a walk.'" And the turnaround was that they took me there to beat me. They left me lying there as if I were dead, and they left,” he said.
When watching the video of his arrest, he made mistakes several times when identifying the police officer who handcuffed him.
When asked by the defense lawyer, the Cuban admitted to having consumed alcohol on the day of the events, but denied that his alcohol consumption affects his ability to observe and remember events. He admitted that he had memory problems, but became angry with the lawyer and accused him of trying to confuse him.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office claims that Rafael Otaño, 27, and Lorenzo Orfila, 22, took Ortega Gutierrez, beat him in a dead-end street and left him there. Both were fired from the Police.
The trial date against Orfila has not yet been set.
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