Judge cites 'stand your ground' law in clearing 3 more Florida officers in shooting of a UPS driver [View all]

Source: AP

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida judge on Monday cleared three more police officers of wrongdoing in the shooting death of a UPS driver who had been taken hostage during a 2019 robbery.

Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra ruled that Miami-Dade police officers Richard Santiesteban, Leslie Lee and Rodolfo Mirabal — who had been charged with manslaughter in the death of UPS driver Frank Ordonez — could not be prosecuted because Florida's “stand your ground” law justified the shooting. The same judge cleared officer Jose Mateo in September for the same reason.

The Broward State Attorney's Office said it will appeal all four rulings.

“Immunity from prosecution is not the same as a defense presented to a jury from this community," the state attorney’s statement said. “It is our belief that Stand Your Ground immunity does not apply in matters involving innocent bystanders, like Frank Ordonez and Richard Cutshaw, who presented no danger to officers. In this incident, two innocent men were killed, and the lives of numerous other innocent bystanders were endangered.”

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/judge-cites-stand-ground-law-220115037.html