Four Miami Dade agents have been charged for the death of Cuban UPS driver Frank Ordoñez and the driver of a private vehicle during a shootout between police and thieves at a jewelry store in Coral Gables on December 5, 2019.
The accusation comes four and a half years after the armed robbery of the Regent jewelry store on Miracle Mile, and the hijacking of a UPS delivery truck by the robbers, events that culminated in a dramatic police chase and shootout in which two innocent bystanders and the assailants died.
The Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association (PBA) confirmed on Monday that the four officers were charged in the December 2019 shooting, in which Ordóñez and 70-year-old Richard Cutshaw, who was driving home, lost their lives.
The names of the police officers have not been revealed, and the charges they face have not been disclosed either.
"We are very disappointed that after almost five years, these officers find themselves accused of something they had seconds to decide," the PBA of Miami-Dade expressed in a statement, quoted by América TeVé.
This generates a chilling effect on the officers of Broward County, as their State Attorney's Office is prosecuting an officer for not responding to an active shooter and is now accusing officers for responding to active shooters. As the process unfolds, we will monitor and defend our officers,” stated the declaration signed by Steadman Stahl, president of the PBA in South Florida.
The Ordóñez family filed a civil lawsuit against the authorities, but in August 2022, a judge in Broward County ruled that they did not have the right to sue due to sovereign immunity.
After learning this Monday that four agents will be tried in a criminal process, Luz Apolinario Merino, Ordóñez's mother, stated via telephone to América TeVé: "There was no need for that to happen and for my son and that man to lose their lives..."
The distressed mother stated, "I am waiting for a thorough trial to take place, for every judge they appoint that day to put their hand on their chest and feel the pain of losing my son, just like I did. I watched him die on television."
Joe Merino, Ordóñez's stepfather, told the news channel that the accusation against the police officers is "surprising after four and a half years" and emphasized: "At last there is progress, I'm not going to say there is justice yet because I still can't see justice in that tunnel."
Referring to the PBA statement, Merino stated: "We are not talking about seconds, we are talking about hours, because it started in Coral Gables, from Coral Gables to the Turnpike, and from the Turnpike, 25 miles to the Miramar exit. Three helicopters, five police departments. They could have called ahead: 'Close this exit for me, close this exit for me,' so that even if they had run out of gas on the Turnpike, they could have negotiated."
Frank Ordóñez was 27 years old when the incident occurred, he lived in Hialeah Gardens and was the father of two girls who were then five and three years old.
The young Cuban had been working at UPS for five years, but December 5th was his first day as a driver for the company when the assailants of the jewelry store located at 386 Miracle Mile in Miami hijacked his vehicle and fled, taking him as a hostage.
This triggered a high-speed police chase for 25 miles, crossing several cities in Miami-Dade until reaching Broward County, and it was broadcast live on television.
The truck stopped at a traffic light near the intersection of Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road, where it was surrounded by more than a dozen police officers. A preliminary investigation revealed that around 200 bullets hit the UPS truck.
According to the authorities, the suspects opened fire on the agents, which triggered the intense shootout between the law enforcement and the assailants, resulting in the deaths of two innocent individuals: Ordóñez and Cutshaw, in addition to the two thieves.
After the fateful outcome, Ordóñez's family blamed the police for his death.
In statements to the press, Roy Ordóñez, Frank's brother, stated: "We had to watch my brother being murdered on live television. We all had to watch it. They used civilian cars as shields. Saying that what they did was total bravery is false and disrespectful to people."
"They killed him," Merino told a television channel, and assured that the tragic event "could have been prevented," and that it was the responsibility of the police to prevent the death of an innocent young man.
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