2 Hialeah officers fired, arrested after being charged in alleged beating of man last December
MIAMI -- Three people, including two Hialeah Police Department officers, are facing criminal charges in connection with an alleged beating of a homeless man last month, authorities said Thursday.
Police Chief George Fuente and State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced the charges against the three suspects during a news conference at police headquarters.
"It does not matter if you're a politician, a government employee, or a police officer. You will be prosecuted if you violate Florida law," said Fernandez Rundle.
A third person is facing charges for alleged witness tampering that involved a $1,350 payment to the victim, which was uncovered during the investigation, Rundle said.
Lorenzo Orfila, a three-year member of the department, and Rafael Otano, 27, a five-year member of the force, were taken into custody this week and both were charged with battery, according to court documents.
Orfila, 22, was also charged with armed kidnapping and official misconduct by a public servant, according to jail records.
Otano, 27, was being held on no bond and also charged with armed kidnapping, according to jail records.
Both of the officers were first removed from active duty before being fired from the department, Fuente said.
"It's a sad and disappointing day when any officer betrays the badge," he said.
Officials said the terminations and criminal charges stemmed from an incident on Dec. 17 involving a man identified as Jose Ortega Gutierrez,50, who was found at a Hialeah shopping plaza by the two officers.
Rundle said the officers allegedly took the man to an "isolated" location where he was handcuffed and beaten into unconsciousness.
The victim woke up in the same location and began walking, where he was spotted later by an off-duty Hialeah police officer out walking his dog.
The man told the off-duty officer that he had been beaten by the two officers
Rundle said Gutierrez was approached by a third man, identified as Ali Aamin Saleh, 12 days after he was beaten and asked to sign an affidavit that had already been notarized affirming that he had not been beaten by the two officers.
Rundle said he signed the form and took the money because he was out of work and homeless.
But investigators later concluded that the man had been beaten after examining other evidence related to the officers' whereabouts and how they reported the interaction with Gutierrez.
Rundle said the officers' body-worn cameras were not activated during the encounter with the victim.
