FLORIDA FILES: Listen to episode 3 of police shootout gone wrong
On Dec. 5, 2019, Frank Ordonez would go to work at UPS and never return home. He'd be taken hostage by two armed robbers and end up in the midst of a police shootout in Miramar Parkway. Richard Cutshaw would be driving home from work and he'd be caught in the crossfire and shot in the head while in his car. Hear the stories of what happened that day and where things stand 3 years later.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/12-06-2020/t_648700eff98844ac85e7ab617dfbd13d_name_image.jpg)
Family, friends meet at spot in Miramar where UPS driver was gunned down one year ago
MIRAMAR, Fla. – A large group of family members and friends arrived to a makeshift memorial on Saturday evening. “We feel the same as we did a year ago,” Ordonez’s father, Joe Merino, said. “I will never get back my son, but I want justice for my family and more importantly for his daughters. Adam Finkel is an attorney representing both the Ordonez and Cutshaw families. Ordonez’s family just wants to know something.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/12-03-2020/t_18e5c93d93bc4b508a666abdc34e2aa9_name_image.jpg)
Nearly a year after fatal police-involved shooting, families still need answers
MIRAMAR, Fla. – Saturday marks one year since a fatal shootout between law enforcement officers and two armed suspects. After the heist, Alexander and Hill are accused of using Ordonez’s UPS truck as a getaway vehicle for about 23 miles. (AP photo/Brynn Anderson)Since Cutshaw died, Thomas Cutshaw said his mother hasn’t been the same. Attorney Adam Finkel is representing both the Cutshaw and the Ordonez families. “The fact of the matter is until justice is achieved and these questions have answers, neither the Cutshaw nor Ordonez families will be able to get to this next step,” Finkel said.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/10-08-2020/t_7721be06099942aeb4fdee03ff9b96be_name_image.jpg)
Fatal police shooting: Grieving families want bodycam video, officers' identities
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Frank Ordoñez’s daughters, ages 6 and 4, miss their dad. Lamar Alexander and Ronnie Hill targeted a jewelry store and kidnapped Ordoñez on Dec. 5 in Coral Gables to flee in his UPS truck. Frank Ordonez died Dec. 5, 2019 in a police-involved shooting after he was kidnapped while working as a UPS driver in Coral Gables. (Local 10 News)Ordoñez’s family and others have been asking six law enforcement agencies to release the identities and bodycam videos of the officers who fired their weapons during the shooting. (Local 10 News)The shooting on Miramar Parkway, just west of Flamingo Road, left Ordoñez, Alexander, Hill, and Rick Cutshaw dead.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/09-16-2020/t_ebc89530bdc14e39b283c07915af85c9_name_image.jpg)
6 police agencies named in lawsuit over Miramar UPS truck driver shooting
On Thursday, Dec. 5, a holdup alarm was triggered about 4:15 p.m. at Regent Jewelers on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables. That’s when a chase ensued — with police following the suspects all the way from Miami-Dade to Broward County. It was revealed last March that at least 19 different officers from four different agencies all fired their weapons that day. On Wednesday, the family of Ordonez — along Lara — officially filed a lawsuit against the six police agencies their lawyers state were involved in the chase and the shootout that followed. The lawsuit names the Miami-Dade Police Department, Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol and the Miramar, Doral and Pembroke Pines police departments.
FDLE’s update on probe: 20 officers fire weapons during fatal shooting
MIRAMAR, Fla. – A Florida Highway Patrol trooper and at least 19 law enforcement officers from four different agencies fired their weapons during a recent fatal police-involved shooting in Broward County, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The Dec. 5 police-involved shooting remains under investigation, but the FDLE revealed one of the officers was from the Pembroke Pines Police Department, three officers were from the Miramar Police Department and 15 officers were from the Miami-Dade Police Department. “We have made a tremendous amount of progress on our investigation," Special Agent Troy Walker said about the ongoing probe. Four people died -- including UPS driver Frank Ordonez -- in the Dec. 5 shooting on Miramar Parkway. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has yet to complete the investigation.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/12-11-2019/t_24d29e05192e4b0cb4acad172db29cbc_name_image.jpg)
Family, friends, fellow drivers pay final respects for killed UPS driver
Frank Ordonez’s casket was carried to its final resting place at Vista Memorial Gardens as family, friends and fellow drivers paid their final respects. Ordonez’s mother, Luz Apolinario, spoke publicly for the first time since her son’s death as she left Vista Memorial Gardens. As the gunmen fired, law enforcement officials returned fire with officers and bystanders alike seeking cover as bullets flew in several directions, video showed. "The armed suspects engaged law enforcement, opened fire," said special agent George Piro, with the FBI Miami Field Office. Additionally, Ordonez’s family are looking into legal actions they can take to ensure better engagement procedure and training to prevent a similar tragedy in the future.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-gmg.s3.amazonaws.com/public/ABEGZHI4MVHFHEZDIIQLS3VKP4.jpg)
Unverified GoFundMe accounts appear to raise money for family of slain UPS driver
HIALEAH, Fla. – Several apparently fake GoFundMe accounts have been created to raise funds for the family of Frank Ordonez, the UPS driver gunned down during Thursday’s shootout in Miramar. However, only two of the funds have been verified and will guarantee delivery of donations to the Ordonez family. The other account, which can be FOUND HERE, has been created by a fellow UPS driver named Ray Mathers. His account will disburse the funds raised through the local drivers union in South Florida. None of the other GoFundMe accounts listed on the page have been verified by the family, although they may also be planning on donating the money to the family.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/12-06-2019/t_8a19d4fe1b50442c962207909a2a4445_name_image.jpg)
’They murdered him:’ Family of UPS driver killed in shootout lashes out at police
’They murdered him:’ Family of UPS driver killed in shootout lashes out at policePublished: December 6, 2019, 1:06 pmWhile mourning his death, the family of the UPS driver killed in Thursday’s shootout in Miramar is also lashing out at police who they believe are responsible for the loss of life.