DORAL, Fla. – Miami-Dade police officer Ronald Neubauer, a 28-year veteran with the department, has been cleared in two cases where he pulled the trigger, according to his attorney.
In the most recent case, prosecutors say that Neubauer indicated that he mistakenly drew his firearm instead of his taser, and while the state attorney deems his actions as negligent, they do not meet the requirements to be prosecuted criminally in the state.
On Thanksgiving Day 2018, Neubauer was responding to a domestic dispute at a house near Homestead when he shot a 15-year-old foster boy in the lower back.
Neubauer’s attorney Teri Guttman Valdes says that the teen punched Neubauer several times in the head.
“He was attacking my client, and that’s when my client pulled his weapon and discharged it,” Valdes said.
Neubauer called for backup, and reports indicate several officers were present when he shot the 15-year-old.
After a 17-month investigation, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle will not pursue a criminal case against the officer.
In March 2018, Neubauer and officer Richard Bellon shot 29-year-old Jahmal Parker at the site of a chaotic crash on U.S. 1, just north of the Florida Keys.
Both officers were trying to assist Parker when Parker allegedly grabbed one of their tasers.
“He had taken the other officer’s taser and was coming after the officers, and they were in fear for their lives when officer Neubauer shot him,” Valdes said.
The use of deadly force in that case was justified.
Parker and the foster teen shot both survived.
Reports indicate that Neubauer fired his weapon twice prior to 2010, and in one of the cases, the person shot died.
Neubauer is currently doing an office job at the Miami-Dade Police Department, and the agency is conducting its own investigation.
His attorney said the veteran officer hasn’t yet decided whether he wants to return to the field.
“He’s getting paid to go to work, and he wants to let [the investigation] take its course,” Valdes said. “He will make his decision at the appropriate time.”
The state attorney’s report on the November 2018 officer-involved shooting can be seen below. (WARNING: It contains profanity.)