Judge cites 'stand your ground' law in clearing 3 more Florida officers in shooting of a UPS driver

Authorities investigate the scene of a fatal shooting Dec. 5, 2019, in Miramar, Fla. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida judge on Monday cleared three more police officers of wrongdoing in the shooting death of a UPS driver who had been taken hostage during a 2019 robbery.

Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra ruled that Miami-Dade police officers Richard Santiesteban, Leslie Lee and Rodolfo Mirabal — who had been charged with manslaughter in the death of UPS driver Frank Ordonez — could not be prosecuted because Florida’s “stand your ground” law justified the shooting. The same judge cleared officer Jose Mateo in September for the same reason.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office said it will appeal all four rulings.

“Immunity from prosecution is not the same as a defence presented to a jury from this community,” the state attorney’s statement said. “It is our belief that Stand Your Ground immunity does not apply in matters involving innocent bystanders, like Frank Ordonez and Richard Cutshaw, who presented no danger to officers. In this incident, two innocent men were killed, and the lives of numerous other innocent bystanders were endangered.”

Cutshaw was also killed in the barrage of gunfire that afternoon.

Ordonez, 27, had been delivering packages in Miami-Dade County on Dec. 5, 2019, when police said two would-be jewelry store robbers abducted him and forced him to drive from the scene. A rush-hour police chase ended at a busy intersection in neighbouring Broward County.

Prosecutors said Mateo fired the shots that killed Ordonez. The two robbers and a passerby were also killed in a hail of gunfire at an intersection in Miramar, Florida.

Footage from a body camera that was played in court showed Mateo’s pursuit of the UPS truck that afternoon. His partner could be seen in the passenger seat with a long gun drawn. The video also showed Mateo approaching the UPS truck. He emptied his firearm’s magazine, reloaded and then pulled Ordonez from the vehicle.

The judge ruled the officers had reason to believe deadly force was necessary to end the confrontation.

The four officers are currently suspended from the their jobs.

The Associated Press