MIAMI, Fla. – The victim of a beating, allegedly at the hands of two former Hialeah police officers, took the stand Tuesday, the second day in the trial of Rafael Otano. Jose Ortega-Gutierrez said he was handcuffed when Otano and the other officer, Lorenzo Orfila, beat him on the night of Dec. 17, 2022.
Ortega-Gutierrez said, “They hit me while my hands were handcuffed.”
Otano is on trial for felony armed kidnapping and aggravated battery, as well as a misdemeanor charge of battery.
The officers answered a disturbance call at Los Tres Conejitos bakery in Hialeah. The owner, Cristina Sosa, testified on Tuesday that Ortega-Gutierriez was causing a ruckus inside her business.
“Was he accusing you of stealing your employees’ tips?” asked Stephan Lopez, one of the defense attorneys.
“I’ve never done that,” said Sosa, crying while on the witness stand.
Ortega-Gutierrrez alleges that after he was put in a squad car, the officers took him to an isolated area where they beat him.
On Tuesday, he said that a man had found him after he had wandered into a nearby neighborhood.
“He sees me bleeding and asked me what happened to you and I told him, ‘Hialeah police beat me up and brought me.’ "
The defense is painting Ortega-Gutierrez as an untrustworthy victim with prior run-ins with the law and an inconsistent story.
Defense attorney Michael Pizzi questioned Ortega-Gutierrez about his claims that officers took him to an isolated area where they beat him.
“Your testimony that Officer Otano rode in a car with you, that is not true, correct?” asked Pizzi.
Ortega-Gutierrez, speaking Spanish, said through an interpreter, “Why (would) I lie?”
The stakes are high for the former police officer. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.