In the early hours of an April morning, a confrontation at Martini Bar in CityPlace Doral spiraled into chaos and tragedy. Now, two Doral police officers who were caught in the crossfire are pursuing legal action against the establishment and its security provider. Officers Andre A. Romo and Ricardo A. Acevedo have filed lawsuits, alleging negligence on the part of the nightclub's ownership and their security details, following an incident that resulted in multiple injuries and the death of a young security guard, as CBS Miami reported.
On April 6, the lives of several individuals, including Romo and Acevedo, were violently disrupted when 37-year-old Jamal Wayne Wood discharged a firearm inside the venue. The gunfire claimed the life of 23-year-old security guard George Alejandro Castellanos and injured seven others, one of the officers among them. Castellanos, who was weeks shy of earning his bachelor's degree, had allegedly not been properly trained for such confrontational scenarios. Wood was killed in a subsequent shootout with police, as Local 10 News revealed.
The ongoing litigation contends that the Martini Bar neglected its responsibility to ensure the security of its patrons by sufficiently searching them for weapons. "I almost didn't make it home to my wife and kids over a completely preventable incident and simple safety measures," Romo disclosed in a press statement. Similarly, Acevedo expressed his fortune in surviving the ordeal, pointing to an expectation that even those who serve must be shielded from harm.
Seeking damages beyond $50,000, excluding attorney's fees and costs, the officers are backed by their attorney Bernardo Pimentel who strongly asserted, "Had appropriate safety measures been in place, the lives of those present, including Officers Romo and Acevedo, would not have been put in peril." The lawsuits not only voice a demand for accountability from the nightclub but also underscore a broader conversation about security practices within nightlife environments. In parallel, Castellanos' family has taken legal action against the club's owners, their grief compounded by the loss of a father and soon-to-be graduate, according to CBS Miami.
