A Miami Dade Police officer cannot be prosecuted for killing a hostage UPS driver in 2019 because the state’s stand-your-ground law justified the use of deadly force against the kidnappers, a Broward judge ruled Thursday.
The ruling by Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra is the latest landmark ruling in the application of “stand your ground” to law enforcement officers. This appears to be the first time the law has been invoked by a police officer to block a prosecution when the victim is not the intended target of the shooting.
Jose Mateo, 33, was on duty in Miami-Dade County when he learned of the pursuit involving kidnapped UPS driver Frank Ordoñez and his assailants, Lamar Alexander and Ronnie Jerome Hill. The pursuit ended at a Miramar intersection where Mateo and fellow officers Rodolfo Mirabal, Richard Santiesteban, and Leslie Lee were among the 20 from four agencies who participated in the standoff. All four were charged with manslaughter in Ordoñez’s death.
In all, more than 221 shots were fired. Mateo was accused of being one of the officers whose shots killed Ordoñez. He was charged with manslaughter in that case. He was not charged in the death of bystander Richard Cutshaw, 70, who was struck by a bullet fired by another officer, Mirabal.
No one was charged with the deaths of the kidnappers.
In dismissing the case against Mateo, Kollra ruled that the officer had reason to believe deadly force was necessary to end the confrontation.
It was not immediately clear whether the other officers will present the same argument to get their cases dismissed.
The Broward State Attorney’s Office is reviewing Kollra’s ruling and will decide whether to appeal.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.
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