A report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) confirmed that the bullets that led to the death in December 2019 of UPS driver Frank Ordóñez, and another driver during a chase with jewelry thieves, were fired by Miami-Dade police, who are now facing charges for the incident.
The shooting was triggered on December 5, 2019, after two suspects in an armed robbery at a jewelry store in Coral Gables took Ordóñez hostage, forcing him to drive his delivery truck on the highways of Miami-Dade and Broward.
The pursuit ended in the city of Miramar, at an intersection near Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road, where the suspects opened fire on the officers, resulting in an intense exchange of gunfire.
In the shooting, Ordóñez -27 years old and of Ecuadorian origin- and Richard Cutshaw, 70 years old, who was returning home from work, were killed.
According to the FDLE report - which is 66 pages long - approximately 20 agents fired around 200 shots during the confrontation, including officers from Miramar, Pembroke Pines, and a Florida Highway Patrol officer.
The report -cited by local press- reveals that during the autopsy of Ordóñez, five bullets were found, at least one of which came from the firearms of the four Miami-Dade officers involved in the shooting: Rodolfo Mirabal, José Mateo, Richard Santiesteban, and Leslie Lee.
These agents were formally charged in June with involuntary manslaughter.
The four face charges for the death of Ordóñez, while Mirabal is also accused of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Cutshaw.
According to the FDLE, Cutshaw was struck by a bullet fired by Mirabal while he was in his vehicle, a Mercury Grand Marquis, several cars away from the UPS truck.
The accusation presented against the officers states that their shots were the result of "criminal negligence" and "without legal justification," in circumstances that do not constitute excusable homicide.
In July, the Broward State Attorney, Harold Pryor, explained that a grand jury issued the charges after reviewing evidence presented over several months.
Pryor emphasized that, given the magnitude of the shooting in an extremely busy intersection filled with civilians, it was crucial for the investigating agencies to present their findings to the grand jury.
Joe Merino, of Cuban origin and stepfather of Ordóñez; and Lucy Apolinario, mother of the UPS driver, expressed that they are not surprised by the results of the report, as they claim they always knew that the bullets that killed their son came from the authorities' weapons.
"Frank went out through the passenger door, with his hands up, and they kept shooting. He tried to crawl to hide under the truck, like a shelter, but they didn't give him the chance," said Merino.
"I knew from the beginning that those bullets were from the police, because I knew Frank and he must have begged those people not to do anything to him, because he was a father," said the mother in reference to the two young daughters of the murdered man.
"I said 'that is my son' because I felt it, I felt something tear inside me... It was seen on the channels. I saw when they killed my son. I will never forget that," the woman added.
The accused agents voluntarily surrendered.to face the charges and have pleaded not guilty. The trial is expected to begin on February 17, 2025, and in the meantime, they remain free on bail.
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