Police union says 4 Miami-Dade police officers are expected to face charges in connection with the fatal 2019 UPS truck shooting

CNN
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Four Miami-Dade police officers are expected to be indicted by a grand jury in connection with a 2019 shooting involving suspects in a hijacked UPS delivery truck that left a hostage delivery driver and a bystander dead, according to a police union.

The chaotic 5th December 2019, A shootout sparked a hail of bullets at a busy South Florida intersection as at least 18 officers from three jurisdictions pursued two jewelry theft suspects who hijacked the UPS delivery truck, sending authorities on a lengthy chase.

“We are extremely disappointed that after nearly five years, these officers are now being charged for something that was only a matter of seconds in their decision,” said Steadman Stahl, president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association.

The names of the officers expected to be charged and the specific charges against them were not disclosed by the police union. CNN has reached out to Miami-Dade police for comment.

In a statement to CNN, the Broward County District Attorney’s Office said: “Grand jury proceedings are secret under Florida law, and any proceedings or decisions of a grand jury are not public until a judge makes them public. We are not authorized to comment at this time.”

Stahl pointed to the charges against the officers – as well as the charges against a former school security guard who was found not guilty of failing to go to the scene of a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 – and warned that the charges send a mixed message to law enforcement.

“It has a chilling effect on officers in Broward County that the district attorney’s office charged an officer for failing to respond to an active shooter and is now charging officers for responding to active shooters. As the trial moves forward, we will be watching it and defending our officers,” Stahl said.

The 2019 confrontation began with an armed robbery of a jewelry store in Coral Gables, near Miami. The two suspects, Lamar Alexander and Ronnie Jerome Hill, then hijacked the UPS delivery truck and took its driver hostage. Police then embarked on a 30-mile chase that spanned two counties and was punctuated by occasional gunfire from the van.

The chase stalled at a busy intersection in Miramar, where gunfire erupted between the suspects and police, with some using their vehicles as improvised shields.

In the end, four people were shot dead, including the two robbery suspects, a passerby and the UPS driver Frank Ordonez, who was taken hostage and who, according to relatives, was being held as a replacement for for a colleague who was unable to work that day.

The bystander, Richard “Rick” Cutshaw, was a field worker for the local union who was caught in the crossfire on his way home from work, said Don Slesnick, an attorney for the Office and Professional Employees International Union, where Cutshaw worked.

At least 13 police officers were shot, but no one was injured, Stahl said at the time.

CNN’s Elizabeth Wolfe contributed to this report.