MIAMI — A police officer involved in the 2019 deadly UPS shootout in Miramar continues to fight against a manslaughter charge.
The body worn camera from defendant Jose Mateo was played for a Broward County judge as he reviewed the uncensored video.
In it, you can see Mateo’s pursuit of the UPS truck as his partner is in the passenger seat with his long gun drawn.
Then, the moments Mateo approaches the armed subjects inside the UPS truck, opening fire and emptying his clip, reloading, and then seen pulling UPS employee Frank Ordonez’s body away from the vehicle.
This happened while Mateo was serving as an officer with what was then the Miami-Dade Police Department. He is currently suspended.
In court Wednesday, rideshare passenger Jahrue Lyttle testified to seeing shots fired from the UPS truck first.
His driver, state’s witness Deverne Donovan, testified the complete opposite, saying it was officers who fired first.
Mateo’s partner, Ryan Lindner, was the first officer he said that returned fire as he was seen approaching the passenger side of the UPS truck as it was stopped in traffic and surrounded by cars and cops.
“At some point, the subject, the hostage taker on the right passenger side, presents himself outside the open door with his right hand with the firearm and fires a round,” Linder said. “As soon as he fired the first round, I fired several rounds, center mass in the chest area.”
But its inside where Ordonez would lose his life, along with innocent driver Rick Cutshaw in another vehicle. Both were hit in the hail of gunfire after 20 officers opened fire.
A pursuit and shootout that has been described by responding officers as fluid, where they were forced to make split second decisions, while the state argued at times that they didn’t follow policy.
Mateo is hoping a judge will dismiss his manslaughter charge, ruling that under the ‘Stand Your Ground Statute’ he fired in self-defense.
“If they allow them to not face the consequences, I have a feeling that we are going to be hearing this term “fluid” stated in almost any situation,” said Roy Ordonez, the victim’s brother.
Prosecutors said they are done calling witnesses, but they still need to rest their case.
If the judge rules in the state’s favor, the manslaughter trial will be set for a later date.
The hearing will continue on Thursday at 8:30 a.m.
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