Miami-Dade police said an officer was forced to fire on a
robbery suspect who reached for the officer's gun Wednesday night.
Police said this started when two men responded to an online advertisement to purchase a car. They arrived to meet the potential seller on the corner of Northwest 44th Street and 22nd Avenue before midnight, but instead were ambushed and robbed.
Police tracked down two suspects in the theft outside a home just blocks away.
"The subjects begin to flee from us, at which time we follow them into the residence," said Detective Javier Baez, of the Miami-Dade Police Department.
Police said one of the men, in his 20s, reached for the officer's gun, forcing the officer to shoot him.
But witnesses told a different story and said the suspect was reaching for the front door.
"He was going towards the door, and the police officer grabbed him," said Walter Collier, the suspect's cousin. "When the police officer grabbed him, he leaned over, and the police officer reached for his own gun and shot him three times."
The injured man was taken to the Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition.
Four others were taken into custody.
"The remaining individuals were placed into custody and are now being interviewed by detectives," Baez said.
While police have not identified the injured suspect, Kimberly Rogers said it is her son, 18-year-old Marcus.
"He may pull through, he may not," Rogers said. "As of now, he is going to be paralyzed from the chest on down."
Police said the injured suspect was wanted for battery on a police officer in a previous case.
"Marcus is not a bad kid," Rogers said. "Maybe they are looking at his priors, but everybody goes through changes."
Clearly there are factual disputes in this story. If the suspect reached for the officer's gun, then the shooting was justified. On the other hand, if the suspect did not take any action that would lead the officer to believe that his life was in danger, then the shooting will be considered excessive force, and the officer could be charged with a crime.