Gun-Wielding Man Killed In SoBe Police Involved Shooting
MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – Loved ones of a man killed in a police involved shooting are challenging the police version of the incident, saying there is no way he would have ever drawn is gun on an officer.
"There is no way my brother would have done this, no way he pulled a gun," said Pauline Alexandre outside her Plantation home. "He was not a gangster. He was not a bum. There's no way he would have attacked anyone, especially a police officer."
"I don't think anyone can describe the way I feel right now," Alexandre told CBS4's Peter D'Oench in an exclusive interview. "It is very hard. I don't understand this altogether."
As Alexandre spoke with D'Oench, her mother Carol Alexandre came outside her home and then fell down on her front yard, sobbing and crying out for her son.
"My mother just got here from Haiti to celebrate the holiday and now this," said Pauline Alexandre. "She would like to say to the officer who killed her son, thank you very much."
A confrontation on Miami Beach has led to the deadly police involved shooting that took the life of 22-year-old Marvin Pogron, who along with his sister ran Goodtymes Entertainment and carried a gun "for protection" because he was in the entertainment business, according to his sister.
She said her brother had been at a Miami Beach nightclub and was having pizza at a restaurant when the incident occurred.
According to Miami Beach Assistant Police Chief Raymond Martinez, the shooting took place across the street from Mansion night club on South Beach around 4:40 a.m.
Martinez said an officer on patrol noticed a large disturbance on the sidewalk just outside of a pizza restaurant near 13th Street and Washington Avenue. The crowd began spilling out into the roadway.
Martinez said the officer spotted one person holding a semi-automatic weapon but the man refused to drop it.
"As the officer approached the disturbance, he observed one male with a gun. He drew down on the subject and ordered him several times to drop the gun," said Martinez.
Martinez also said the police officer was dressed in full uniform and identified himself as an officer.
"The subject did not drop the gun and had the gun pointed in the direction of the officer. The officer fired his weapon, striking the subject."
The officer fired two, possibly three rounds into the man's front torso area. The unidentified man was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he later died.
Alexandre disputes the what police say happened moments before the shooting.
"Anybody in their right mind, you see a police officer with gun you don't even point your gun. You don't even show your gun. You know how police works her," said Alexandre.
"I heard that sound, 'pop, pop, pop'," described a witness named Tommy. "I know that sound. I was in the military. I know it a mile away. I ran behind the building because I didn't want to get hit."
Washington Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets was closed for hours due to the police investigation.
"I want to hear from Assistant Chief Martinez about this investigation because he does not have his facts right," said Pauline Alexandre.
"We have a lot of questions and we are going to hire an attorney as well," said Demeetree Pognon, who is the brother of Marvin Pognon and who was here for the holiday, visiting from Boston. "We are a close family and this was not right."
Police say Pognon's loaded, semi-automatic gun was found at the scene. CBS was there as the officer's cruiser and a Mercedes Benz that was tied to the shooting were towed from the scene.
