A report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reveals that police bullets accidentally killed a UPS driver and a bystander during a 2019 shootout in Miramar. The shootout began after suspects stole a UPS truck and held driver Frank Ordonez hostage following a jewelry store robbery, according to WSVN.
In a botched attempt to apprehend the suspects, the officers were reported to have fired over 200 rounds. It was later revealed, according to findings by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported by WSVN and confirmed by Local 10, that all bullets responsible for the deaths of Ordonez and bystander Richard Cutshaw traced back to the weaponry discharged by the officers in question. Amidst the chaos, directives from dispatchers seemingly to prevent such a tragedy were not adhered to — directives cautioning police "Attention all units, do not approach the vehicle. Again, attention all units, do not approach the vehicle. The subject has shot at units multiple times," as the suspects had previously shot at police units.
Among the officers, four Miami-Dade policemen, Leslie Lee, Jose Mateo, Richard Santiesteban, and Rodolfo Mirabal, have been indicted on manslaughter charges in relation to the deaths. Notably, FDLE's investigative process included extensive video evidence from body cameras and public surveillance, lending transparency to the subsequent indictment. As the judicial process unfolds, all four officers have entered pleas of not guilty, currently out on bail pending the outcome of their trials.
"I just can’t imagine in my head how he was feeling. My brother had kids, so I just I can’t imagine the moment that he was literally in front of death," Geneviève Merino, Ordonez's sister, told WSVN. Joe Merino, the victim's stepfather, saying, "Those memories just don’t go away. It’s the same movie. You can play it back over and over again, and it’s the same movie. The same, it’s the same outcome."
