The Miami Beach Police Department released radio dispatch communications made on Memorial Day 2011 when officers fired more than 100 rounds and killed a man who investigators say was driving erratically on Collins Avenue.
An attorney representing Raymond Herisse's family released the recordings over the weekend. Local 10 Crime Specialist John Turchin, who transcribed them Monday, described the recordings as "chaotic."
LISTEN: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Officer 1: "Hialeah 200. Priority. There's a vehicle fleeing southbound on Collins at 16 Street." Officer 2: "I believe he struck one of the officers.'' Officer 3: "Shots are fired! Shots fired! Shots fired!"
The gunfire killed Herisse, 22, and injured four bystanders. Police said Herisse was driving erratically and hit one officer. An autopsy showed he was struck at least 16 times. His blood-alcohol level was above Florida's 0.08 legal limit.
Officer: "We have the car. We have the car at 13th and Collins." Dispatcher: "Where's the subject? Where's the subject?" Officer: "In the vehicle."
"What you don't hear tells the story," said Marwan Porter, an attorney representing the Herisse family. "What you don't hear is 'He has a gun.' What you don't hear is 'He's firing out of the vehicle.'"
Special section: Local 10 Investigates
A handgun wrapped inside a towel was found days after the shooting, but the autopsy found no gunshot residue on Herisse's hands. The actions of the 12 officers remain under investigation by the office of Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
"We're not allowed to comment about a lot of things where the defense attorneys and plaintiffs attorneys in this case are, so obviously it's frustrating not to be able to put our side of the story out there until two and three years later when this case goes to trial," said Robert Hernandez with the Miami Beach Police Department.
The shooting happened during Urban Beach Week, the annual Memorial Day festival that draws hundreds of thousands of people to Miami Beach to celebrate hip-hop culture, music and fashion. Police have since beefed up their presence, deploying scanners on beach causeways to check license plates for outstanding warrants, maintaining DUI checkpoints and erecting several police surveillance watchtowers.
Herisse's family filed a civil rights lawsuit earlier this year.