http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/...l-police-involved-shooting.html#disqus_thread
The four gunmen shot and killed by Miami-Dade police officers in the Redland Thursday night believed they were staging a home invasion robbery targeting a “substantial amount” of marijuana, the department’s director said.
There was no marijuana. It was in fact a “controlled” operation staged by police with the help of a “cooperating defendant,” Miami-Dade Police Director James Loftus said Friday in an interview.
Miami-Dade’s heavily armed Special Response Team, which had surrounded the property to arrest the crew, ordered the men to put down their weapons and they refused, Loftus said. At least one gunman may have fired at officers, he said.
“Sometimes, this is a dangerous job and it’s dangerous for us, and this is a reminder that it’s dangerous for the bad guys,” Loftus said.
Miami-Dade robbery detectives had been tracking the crew for weeks. They believe the men — each with a lengthy criminal history — may be responsible for at least 15 violent home invasion robberies since last fall.
The cooperating defendant, recently released from federal prison, told his cohorts about the location of the supposed marijuana stash. His police handlers told him not to participate in the heist, but he did anyway — and he too was killed in the shooting, Loftus said.
The man was found armed with a pistol and detectives believe his cohorts may have forced him to participate, he said.
The shooting happened about 9 p.m. at a home in the area of Southwest 216th Street and 189th Avenue. The names of the slain men have not been released. The driver who brought the suspected armed robbers to the 3-acre property was not injured and has been taken into custody by police.
The shooting officers have been placed on temporary administrative duty, as is routine in police shootings.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/...ved-shooting.html#disqus_thread#ixzz1QsA9PgCN
The four gunmen shot and killed by Miami-Dade police officers in the Redland Thursday night believed they were staging a home invasion robbery targeting a “substantial amount” of marijuana, the department’s director said.
There was no marijuana. It was in fact a “controlled” operation staged by police with the help of a “cooperating defendant,” Miami-Dade Police Director James Loftus said Friday in an interview.
Miami-Dade’s heavily armed Special Response Team, which had surrounded the property to arrest the crew, ordered the men to put down their weapons and they refused, Loftus said. At least one gunman may have fired at officers, he said.
“Sometimes, this is a dangerous job and it’s dangerous for us, and this is a reminder that it’s dangerous for the bad guys,” Loftus said.
Miami-Dade robbery detectives had been tracking the crew for weeks. They believe the men — each with a lengthy criminal history — may be responsible for at least 15 violent home invasion robberies since last fall.
The cooperating defendant, recently released from federal prison, told his cohorts about the location of the supposed marijuana stash. His police handlers told him not to participate in the heist, but he did anyway — and he too was killed in the shooting, Loftus said.
The man was found armed with a pistol and detectives believe his cohorts may have forced him to participate, he said.
The shooting happened about 9 p.m. at a home in the area of Southwest 216th Street and 189th Avenue. The names of the slain men have not been released. The driver who brought the suspected armed robbers to the 3-acre property was not injured and has been taken into custody by police.
The shooting officers have been placed on temporary administrative duty, as is routine in police shootings.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/...ved-shooting.html#disqus_thread#ixzz1QsA9PgCN
