MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A police officer shot and killed a 73-year-old man on Monday evening in northwest Miami-Dade County.
On Tuesday, several Miami-Dade residents in the area of Northwest 114th Street and 17th Avenue said Ernesto Battle was a friendly neighbor.
“He was a normal guy, a good guy. He was alright,” one said.
“Very friendly. Nothing scary or anything of the sort,” another said.
Miami-Dade Police Department officers described Battle as a threatening man who was armed with a rifle.
Witnesses heard the gunshot and saw an officer performing CPR on Battle, who was lying on the sidewalk in front of his home.
Miami-Dade Interim Director George A. Perez held a news conference on Monday night. He said Battle called 911 and an officer’s body-camera video shows he raised the rifle in the direction of the officer.
“It was very clear that he was going to cause harm, that he was, in fact, going to kill somebody,” Perez said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting, per standard protocol.
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