A new report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on the 2019 shootout with robbery suspects in Miramar confirms that a UPS driver and bystander were killed by bullets fired by the weapons of Miami-Dade Police officers who are facing charges in the incident.
The 66-page FDLE report obtained by NBC6 on Thursday details the Dec. 5, 2019 shooting that unfolded on Miramar Parkway and that left UPS driver Frank Ordonez and bystander Richard Cutshaw dead.
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Four Miami-Dade Police officers - Rodolfo Mirabal, Jose Mateo, Richard Santiesteban and Leslie Lee - were indicted in June on manslaughter charges in the shootout.
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All four are charged with manslaughter with a firearm in the shooting of Ordonez, while only Mirabal is charged with manslaughter in Cutshaw's shooting.
According to the FDLE report, five bullets including at least one from the weapons of all four officers were found during the autopsy of Ordonez.
A bullet fired from Mirabal's weapon was also found during Cutshaw's autopsy, the report said.
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The report said some 20 officers fired around 200 shots during the shootout, including officers from Miramar and Pembroke Pines, and a Florida Highway Patrol trooper.
Ordonez had been working the day of the incident when there was an armed robbery and shootout at a jewelry shop in Coral Gables.
The two suspects took him hostage as they fled in his truck, leading to a pursuit that made its way to Broward County.
When the truck stopped in traffic at a light near Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road, the suspects opened fire on officers, which resulted in an exchange of gunfire between law enforcement and the suspects, officials said.
The entire incident was caught on camera.
The 27-year-old Ordonez and 70-year-old Cutshaw, who was driving home from work, were killed in the crossfire, along with the two suspects.
According to the FDLE report, Cutshaw was in the driver's seat of his Mercury Grand Marquis which was several vehicles in front of the UPS truck when a bullet hit him in the back of his head.
The indictment filed against the officers said the shootings were a result of "culpable negligence" and "without lawful justification and under circumstances not constituting excusable homicide."
In July, Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor said a grand jury issued the indictments against the officers after hearing evidence presented over several months.
"The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted an extensive investigation of the officers involved in the shootings and their circumstances," Pryor said in a statement. "Given the enormity of the gunfire in this incident at an extremely busy intersection packed with civilian motorists and pedestrians, we presented these agencies’ findings to the grand jury."
The officers turned themselves in to face the charges and have pleaded not guilty.
A trial date has been set for February 17, 2025.
Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association President Steadman Stahl told NBC6 in June that he is disappointed with the indictment and noted that the PBA will provide lawyers and support the officers through the legal process.
“It’s going to have a chilling effect,” Stahl said. “The police officers are not the ones who should be held responsible for this."
