No charges to be filed against officer in death of Israel Hernandez-Llach

Hernandez-Llach, 18, went into cardiac arrest after stunned by Taser in August 2013

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. ā€“ No charges will be filed against the Miami Beach police officer who used a Taser on a graffiti artist in August 2013, which resulted in the man's death, the State Attorney's Office announced Thursday.

"The investigation has determined that the officer was legally justified in his use of force and no criminal charges will be filed against the subject officer," State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle said in the final report.

According to the report, at about 5:15 a.m.on Aug. 6, 2013, a witness told Officer Jorge Mercado and Officer Cormilus Lattimore that he saw three men spraying graffiti on an old McDonald's building at 71st Street and Collins Avenue.

SLIDE SHOW: Read excerpts of the State Attorney's Office report

The report said the officers saw Israel Hernandez-Llach, 18, a local artist, better known as Reefa, standing by the building and shaking a paint can.

Authorities said Mercado ordered Hernandez-Llach to stop, but said the artist ran off and refused to obey verbal commands.

According to the report, Hernandez-Llach ran into an occupied apartment building and hopped a fence before Mercado stunned him with a Taser in order to take him into custody.

The report said Hernandez-Llach was unresponsive after the Taser deployed and was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

"It was determined that the actions taken by MBPD Officer Jorge Mercado were consistent with the physical evidence and overall testimony of law enforcement officers and civilian witnesses," the report said.

Associate Medical Examiner Dr. Mark Shuman confirmed that Hernandez-Llach's death was the result of the Taser, which caused him to go into cardiac arrest. Shuman said that the artist's blood tested positive for marijuana, but said it did not contribute to his death.

According to the report, Shuman found that the Taser's prongs deployed in "such a manner that the heart was located between the prongs."

Mercado was placed on administrative leave, but was later placed back on duty.

"This officer acted negligently," the Hernandez family attorney, Todd Falzone said. "He had no business deploying the Taser in the fashion that he did that day, and in addition to that, this product is dangerous and deadly."

A group walked in silence, but they were angry and upset. Some had tears in their eyes, others with flowers and shirts.

"He had to lose his life at such a young age for what? For going to a building that was already marked up and tagging it?" a member of the group asked.

The group was marking the spot where Hernandez-Llach was shot by a stun gun by police, hours after the State Attorney's Office announced the officer involved will not be charged.

Hernandez-Llach's family has filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Miami Beach and the Taser company.

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About the Authors:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.

Andrew Perez is a South Florida native who joined the Local 10 News team in May 2014.