"The three remaining defendants charged with manslaughter in the 2019 deaths of a UPS driver and an innocent bystander are now arguing that they should be immune from prosecution under Florida's Stand Your Ground law, the same law invoked last month by a fourth Miami-Dade officer, whose charge was dismissed. Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra ruled last month that Jose Mateo, 33, should not be"
"The kidnappers, Lamar Alexander and Ronnie Jerome Hill, died in the shootout, but so did their victim, UPS driver Frank Ordoñez, and Richard Cutshaw, 70, a motorist in the wrong place at the wrong time. The shootout took place at a Miramar intersection after a chase that began in Coral Gables. Four Miami-Dade police officers were charged with manslaughter in Ordonez's death."
"Prosecutor Chuck Morton argued at Mateo's stand-your-ground hearing that the officers used a reckless and disproportionate amount of force in the confrontation, resulting in avoidable loss of life. But Mateo's lawyers argued successfully that in the middle of the standoff, he took the action he believed to be necessary to save lives. Now lawyers for Mirabal, Santiesteban and Lee are making the same argument."
Three Miami-Dade police officers — Rodolfo Mirabal, Richard Santiesteban and Leslie Lee — argue they are immune from manslaughter prosecution under Florida's Stand Your Ground law for actions in a 2019 shootout. Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra previously ruled that officer Jose Mateo should not be prosecuted, finding he lawfully believed deadly force was necessary to end a threat posed by two robber-kidnappers. The chase began in Coral Gables and ended at a Miramar intersection where the kidnappers, UPS driver Frank Ordoñez and motorist Richard Cutshaw were killed. The Broward State Attorney's Office is appealing and hearings are scheduled for the other officers.
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