OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain held a news conference Thursday morning to announce a grand jury’s findings that the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office’s “problematic, impulsive and unplanned” approach to a reported shoplifting at a Target in 2022 led to deputies fatally shooting a man, hurting two others and endangering the public.
“The grand jury was blunt that they said that this should have never happened. The grand jury firmly believes that ineffective and insufficient communication and training by the (Osceola County) sheriff’s office needlessly created the results of this tragic shooting,” Bain said.
The shooting occurred April 27, 2022, near the Target located at 4795 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway. In the parking lot, Osceola deputies attempted to perform a vehicle block of an Audi carrying suspected shoplifters — accused of stealing packs of Pokémon cards and a pizza — soon firing upon the car and killing Jayden Baez, 20, while Joseph Lowe and Michael Gomez were injured.
“Deputies attempted at that time to perform a tactical maneuver called a vehicle block to keep the suspects from leaving. Unfortunately, that vehicle block failed, and because of that, two officers fired into the vehicle, killing one man, injuring two others while endangering passersby inside of the parking lot,” Bain said.
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The vehicle block and subsequent shooting occurred after Gomez and Lowe returned to the car, surveillance video shows. Lowe lost part of his hand and Gomez was shot in the back; both faced petit theft charges which were later dropped.
A federal lawsuit filed in September 2023 accuses the sheriff’s office of monitoring Gomez and Lowe inside the Target store, but not confronting them at any time prior to the vehicle block, claiming the deputies used the suspects as “human guinea pigs for their training exercises.”
A grand jury was put in place after Bain announced a policy change last year regarding use-of-force cases, announcing a grand jury would decide whether criminal charges would be filed against an officer who uses force in a criminal case.
Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez in January praised the grand jury’s decision to not bring charges against two deputies involved in the shooting. Lopez said then that it was unfortunate his deputies “had to wait 20 months to be told that they’re rightfully and legally performing their job as a deputy sheriff.”
Thursday, Bain said the grand jury’s report revealed its determination that the incident itself was “problematic, impulsive and unplanned.”
Read the grand jury report below:
Osceola Grand Jury Presentment Feb 2024 by Brandon Hogan on Scribd
Since the shooting, the sheriff’s office has implemented and/or updated the following policies, according to the SAO:
- Vehicle block policy
- An update to Policy 461.0 providing that deputies are now required to consider several risk factors before utilizing a vehicle block, including “location, type of vehicle, time of day, civilian vehicle and pedestrian traffic and their ability to control it, natural barriers and status of deputy communications (which) all must be considered before a vehicle block is executed.”
- Changes to vehicle block offense eligibility
- A new policy to only allow for vehicle blocks for suspects of felony crimes and based on a totality of circumstances that doesn’t create unnessacary risk to law enforcement or the public.
- Policy on deputies placing themselves in harm’s way
- An update to Policy 461.0(K)(2) stating all deputies directly involved in a vehicle block must not exit their vehicle until the suspect is fully compliant and their keys are removed and placed elsewhere.
Additionally, sheriff’s office Policy 470.0 was reportedly updated to state deputies are not to intentionally place themselves in the path of a moving vehicle or its potential escape path, which would create circumstances where deadly force is likely, according to the SAO.
The grand jury identified the following five areas of improvement that it recommended the sheriff’s office heed in order to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future:
- Policy regarding surrounding circumstances before executing a vehicle block
- Identifying what offenses qualify for vehicle blocks
- Communication and execution of the vehicle block
- Body-worn cameras
- Deputies placing themselves in harm’s way and firing into moving vehicles
Ryan Williams, chief assistant at the Orange-Osceola SAO, detailed the grand jury’s five key recommendations.
The first and second items concern the sheriff’s offices’ lack in 2022 of a vehicle block policy tailored well enough to address deputies’ reasoning for executing the maneuver given what was known at the time, something that Williams said the grand jury found deeply troubling.
“A policy was not in place that took the circumstances surrounding a vehicle block into account. The shooting if you’ll recall happened around 7 p.m. in a busy retail parking lot. The grand jury specifically said that the vehicle block was executed impulsively with little to no regard for the safety of bystanders. The men involved, the targets of use of force, were accused of shoplifting, an offense that did not put the public in immediate danger. The grand jury did not believe a block was warranted in the moment based upon what the deputies knew at the time,” Williams said.
The second area more specifically deals in how the grand jury expressed grave concerns over whether deputies’ use of force was appropriate for a misdemeanor offence.
“The deputies had several conversations before executing the vehicle block, including a discussion as to whether any crime had been committed at all, but they never — the deputies — never discussed whether the use of force was appropriate for a misdemeanor theft,” Williams said.
Third, Williams’ described the grand jury’s finding of “the lack of communication and training” within the sheriff’s office, relaying determinations that the deputies were not on the same page and did not know their role.
“There was little to no communication about what would happen after the vehicle block that would ensure that the men inside the vehicle would be secured safely. One of the deputies involved in the vehicle block was a trainee on the day of the incident and it’s not clear what if any experience that specific deputy had in conducting a vehicle block,” Williams said.
During the vehicle block, Williams said the sheriff’s office left an opening that allowed the Audi’s driver to pull forward into the pathway of a deputy who had left his vehicle, “intentionally and needlessly placing himself in the path of a moving vehicle, creating circumstances where the deadly use of force occurred.”
For the fourth item, Williams reminded the crowd that there is no body-worn camera video of the incident. Here, he discussed the grand jury’s recommendation that “all deputies anticipating (the) detention or arrest of a member of the public” wear such a device.
“If body-worn cameras had been used, it would have been clear who was where, left no questions as to what was said, of what commands were issued in the moment,” Williams said.
Fifth, the grand jury would like to see the sheriff’s office update its vehicle block policy — Policy 461.0 — to clearly state “that any passenger or law enforcement officers in the vehicles are not out of the vehicle prior to the subject being subdued,” according to Williams.
“The sheriff’s office’s amended policy also expressly prevents deputies now from intentionally positioning themselves in the path of a moving vehicle or its potential for escape,” Williams said. “It now requires deputies to attempt to move to safety rather than firing their weapon at the vehicle if they find themselves in harm’s way.”
In a news release, the SAO acknowledged that it cannot force agencies to update, adopt or even review the recommendations in a grand jury’s report.
(It) is our hope that they review the presentment and make any necessary changes to bring their policies, training and procedures in line with these best practice recommendations.
Grand Jury Recommends Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Change Vehicle Block Policies Following Fatal Deputy-Involved Shooting | Feb. 29, 2024 (excerpt)
In a statement released Thursday, Lopez again thanked the grand jury for clearing his deputies of charges, adding the sheriff’s office would consider the grand jury’s recommendations.
We want to thank the grand jury for their wisdom in clearing our deputies of all charges, their thoughtful consideration of this case, and for their recommendations. The decisions and recommendations from the grand jury are crucial to the overall mission of law enforcement. We will consider these recommendations and continue to support the men and women of our agency to better ensure the safety of the citizens of Osceola County.
Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez | Feb. 29, 2024
Attorney Mark NeJame, who filed the federal lawsuit against Sheriff Marcos Lopez and deputies Scott Koffinas and Ramy Yacoub, spoke at the news conference Thursday to thank the grand jury, Williams and Bain for doing “the right thing.”
“I don’t think people understand the criticism, the ridicule, the mockery, the threats sometimes that occur when you’re handling a case like this, but we did not stop. We were relentless in our efforts to bring out the truth. We’re so thankful to the state attorney’s office for listening to us and as we proceeded forward with the media and getting the truth out about what happened,” NeJame said. “Unfortunately, my words are not so generous as it relates to Sheriff Marcos Lopez of Osceola County and some of his cronies. His policies, procedures, practices and protocols are what led to this reign of terror. Remember, after this unnecessary and brutal murder and maiming of these young men, Sheriff Lopez took to the airwaves and ratified the conduct of the deputies. He didn’t say ‘We need to make changes,’ he didn’t say ‘I’m sorry,’ he didn’t say ‘We did something wrong,’ he said ‘We did everything right.’”
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