The Hialeah Police Department and the State Attorney’s Office are being sued for allegedly withholding evidence in a high-profile criminal case involving two officers who were charged with kidnapping and beating a homeless man.
Body camera video was at the center of a lawsuit filed on behalf of former Hialeah Officer Rafael Otano, who was accused of abducting and beating a homeless man in 2022.
Last year, he was sentenced to 66 months in prison after he was found guilty of armed kidnapping. A trial date hasn’t been set yet for Lorenzo Orfila, the other officer accused.
Attorney Stephan Lopez, who is representing Otano, said the State Attorney’s Office withheld evidence showing that the homeless man was clearly told on video that he trespassed and they would arrest him every time they saw him there.
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“What can be done now? You know, as far as Otano's concerned, there has to be a motion filed for post-conviction relief based on the newly discovered evidence. The judge could grant him a new trial, vacate his sentence," Lopez said.
The incident in the video occurred a month before the alleged kidnapping. Otano’s attorney said the crucial video was hidden by the State Attorney’s Office and the Hialeah Police Department.
“We show a video that the man was trespassed on the plaza that he couldn't be there," Lopez said. "How can the State Attorney's Office now say that he was kidnapped the minute they put him in Orfila’s car? Or Orfila had the right to remove him from the plaza."
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“These allegations have no merit and are the same as those presented by the defense at the trial in which a jury found former officer Otano guilty of kidnapping. Although the officers had the legal authority to arrest the victim and should have arrested him, they did not take any action consistent with making an arrest. Instead of transporting the victim to the Turner Guilford Knight (TGK) Detention Center, they took him in a patrol car to an isolated location outside their jurisdiction where the victim was beaten and left without medical attention,” the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said in a statement. “The State has fulfilled its responsibility to provide discovery to the defense as required by law.”
