Investigation Underway In Deadly Police Involved Shooting
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami-Dade Police are investigating a deadly shooting involving a Miami Beach police officer.
The six year veteran of the Miami Beach police shot his rifle twice Saturday after a confrontation with a man they say had just robbed a bank.
Miami Beach police Chief Daniel Oates said the department got a 911 call just before 10:30 Saturday morning that a man was holding up the Bank of America at 1414 Alton Road.
The unidentified Hispanic man gave the teller a handwritten note demanding all the 50, 100 and 20 dollar bills. He also wrote, "I have a bomb. Be careful."
After leaving empty handed the shirtless man then entered the RazzleDazzle Barber Shop a few doors down. The manager told CBS4 the man threw things and terrified customers.
"He was out of his mind," manager Joaquin Cintron said. "Of course they get scared. He came into the door and he was running and he wasn't wearing a t-shirt either. And his face as they told me was kind of crazy."
Police say the man then came out of the barber shop carrying a straight edge razor, officers waiting outside, guns drawn.
"He was gesturing for them to like come at him," described one woman who works nearby.
"He was challenged by the officers in the street and at some point during that confrontation he did raise his hand with a straight edge razor in it and he was shot," said Chief Oates.
Some people walking or working near the chaos recorded the confrontation between the man and police. They also recorded the moment when the officer fires his rifle twice, hitting the man as he falls to the ground.
The videos have gone viral, many people questioning the need for the officer to shoot and kill the man who had in his hand a razor.
But the police chief advised people look at the video closely.
"I know there are videos out there in the media," said the Chief. "If you slow those videos down carefully you will see the weapon is raised the moment when shots take place."
The Miami Beach fraternal order of police released a statement defending the shooting. It said in part, the man said he had a bomb as he tried to rob a bank on Alton road. After a lengthy standoff, violent and erratic behavior and him refusing to comply with officers, shots were fired.
The officer who fired his weapon has been with the Miami Beach Police Department six years.
The Chief also told CBS4 at least one officer at the scene was wearing a body camera.
Miami-Dade police are investigating the shooting. The FBI and Miami Beach Police are working on the attempted robbery.
