FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Four Miami-Dade police officers charged in connection to a shootout that killed an innocent bystander and a delivery driver were arraigned in Broward County court Monday.
Rodolfo Mirabal, Richard Santiesteban, Jose Mateo and Leslie Lee are all charged with manslaughter. Mateo appeared remotely Monday, along with attorneys for the other three defendants.
All four entered pleas of not guilty after they were officially charged last month in connection to a 2019 chase and shootout.
The head of the union representing Miami-Dade police officers defended the indicted cops in an interview with Local 10 News on Monday.
“These are trained, good police officers that are now having to defend their actions on protecting the people,” South Florida Police Benevolent Association President Steadman Stahl said. “Those officers didn’t pick that location to have the shootout in. It’s the bad guys. They could’ve stopped it at any time.”
The deadly incident began in Coral Gables, where Lamar Alexander and Ronnie Hill robbed a jewelry store before hijacking a UPS truck driven by 27-year-old Frank Ordonez.
That launched a multi-county police chase, which later ended in Miramar when some 20 different officers from several agencies fired their weapons near a busy intersection.
The shootout killed Ordonez and Rick Cutshaw, 70, who was also hit by a bullet while sitting in traffic.
“They didn’t control the situation where it was going to happen at,” Stahl said. “They didn’t control the location. So the officers are upset (because) they were doing their jobs.”
In court Monday, the judge set a tentative trial date for next February.
“Nobody wanted to be here,” Stahl said. “Nobody wanted anybody to lose their lives. The bad guys put everything in motion here.”
If the officers are convicted, they each face up to 30 years in prison.
Their next court date is set for November.