MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. ā Southwest 162nd Avenue is where āEchyā's dreams came true.
Thatās what Miami-Dade Police Department Director Freddy Ramirez said Monday, after renaming a stretch of the road after fallen detective Cesar āEchyā Echaverry.
The portion of street is now known as āOfficer Cesar āEchyā Echaverry Jr. Way.ā
āWhen you look at 162nd Avenue, you see action,ā Ramirez said. āYou see a man that gave it all.ā
Echaverry, part of MDPDās Robbery Intervention Detail, was shot Aug. 15 in Miamiās Liberty City neighborhood while trying to capture a robbery suspect out of Dania Beach and died two days later.
The Hialeah native and five-year veteran of the force was remembered as a gentle soul with a brave heart.
āOur county is safer today because of Officer Echaverry and his selflessness because of a sacrifice that we will never, ever forget,ā Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said.
Echaverryās fiancĆ©e, Stephanie Vargas, was in attendance for the renaming ceremony. She said the street, located in the Kendall West area, holds special significance for Echaverry.
Itās near his former school, Ferguson High School, and itās a street he traveled on every day.
āThe street itself is extremely meaningful, as it was the main way to his daily routines,ā Vargas said. āGym, church, my house.ā
Vargas said the dedication will ānever ease the pain of his passing.ā
āHis death left us all with an emptiness no memorial could ever fill,ā she said.
Echaverryās family received two flags during the ceremony: one flown over the U.S. Capitol and another flown over the Florida Capitol.