Officers Indicted Over Robber Shootout That Killed Bystanders

(NewsWorthy.news) – Four police officers in Florida were indicted on charges of manslaughter five years after a shootout that killed a victim and a bystander.

On Saturday June 15, prosecutors in Broward County announced that four law enforcement officers in Miami-Dade County were indicted on manslaughter with a firearm charges related to a 2019 altercation in a busy pedestrian area in Fort Lauderdale. The incident involved suspects shooting at police from various agencies during a pursuit through rush-hour traffic.

39-year-old Rodolfo Mirabal was indicted on two counts in connection with the deaths of Frank Ordonez, a 27-year-old UPS driver, and 70-year-old Richard Cutshaw, a union negotiator who happened to be driving past at the time of the shootout.

Additionally, the grand jury indicted three more officers—32-year-old Jose Mateo, 33-year-old Richard Santiesteban, and 57-year-old Leslie Lee—with the same charge, but only in relation to the death of Ordonez. These three were not charged for the death of Cutshaw. The 2019 incident also claimed the lives of two hijackers who were targeting the UPS driver. The deaths of Lamar and Ronnie Hill, two cousins aged 41, were not included in the charges.

Both Mateo and Mirabal are still employees within the Miami-Dade law enforcement office. However, Lee retired from the force in 2021 and Santiesteban was fired. The charges could land each officer a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, if they are convicted. However, because they are first-time offenders, the highest punishment is not expected.

The four officers were officially indicted over a week ago, but the news was kept quiet until they surrendered to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which released them without bail. The charges were the result of a lengthy, four-year investigation by the state’s Department of Law Enforcement.

The indictments come after a four-year investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The decision was criticized by the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, a union whose president said is “extremely disappointed” that the investigation has landed officers with charges over actions which “they had seconds to decide.”