Just days before the “Urban Beach Weekend” festivities begin, the City of Miami Beach was hit with a civil lawsuit for an incident that happened during the same event two years ago, when 22-year-old Raymond Herisse was killed and four others were injured after police opened fire on his car in the area of Collins Avenue and 15th Street. Herisse…
Just days before the "Urban Beach Weekend" festivities begin, the City of Miami Beach was hit with a civil lawsuit for an incident that happened during the same event two years ago.
On May 20, 2011, 22-year-old Raymond Herisse was killed and four others were injured after police opened fire on his car in the area of Collins Avenue and 15th Street.
During a press conference outside of the Miami Beach Police Department on Tuesday, Herisse's mother Marcelline Azor sobbed, saying she is "still looking" for her son. Attorney Marwan Porter told the media they "finally have enough information to move forward with the wrongful death lawsuit, with this cold-blooded execution."
Officers and the cities of Miami Beach and Hialeah are named in the lawsuit as well as elected officials that were in power when the shooting occurred during the Urban Beach Weekend festivities. Police said Herisse tried to hit officers with his car before cops surrounded it and opened fire as seen on several YouTube videos.
Porter said there were indications Raymond Herisse may have been driving under the influence but stated that "if it's Miami Beach's policy and Hialeah's policy to execute people in Miami Beach while we have a festival in town for driving under the influence, we're going to have a whole lot of dead tourists here."
The family said that after filing a public information lawsuit they were able to get the medical examiner's report stating that Herisse did not fire a gun that night, although officers say one was found in his car. Raymond sister's Charlene Herisse told the media that they now know her brother wasn't shooting but still need more answers.
"We need to be able to have some kind of closure," she said.
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NBC 6 reached out to the Miami Beach and Hialeah police departments but was told they cannot comment on open investigations.
