Twenty officers opened fire in shootout

Miramar armed robbery encounter sent 300 bullets onto roadway

MIRAMAR — Twenty officers from four police agencies opened fire in a shootout with armed robbers — a deadly encounter that triggered a volley of more than 300 bullets amid a packed roadway.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been investigating the officers’ use of force in the Miramar shootout that left four dead Dec. 5. The results of its investigation will be turned over to prosecutors, who then will determine whether the officers’ actions should result in criminal charges against them.

The tally of officers came from the FDLE on Friday, marking the first time a law enforcement agency has confirmed the number of officers who opened fire.

The number has fluctuated in various reports since December.

The shooting between police and bank robbers broke out on a thoroughfare packed with innocent civilians. Killed were 27-year-old UPS driver Frank Ordoñez and 70-year-old Richard Cutshaw, as well as the two robbers.

Little information has been released since the shooting and to this day it’s not known whose bullets killed Ordoñez and Cutshaw: Did the two armed robbers shoot them? Or were the bullets shot by the police, who engaged in a firefight amid a packed roadway?

Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for FDLE, said the officers involved were:

■ Fifteen Miami-Dade police officers.

■ Three Miramar police officers.

■ A Pembroke Pines police officer.

■ A Florida Highway Patrol trooper.

Plessinger said the FDLE has not released any information on whose bullets killed Ordoñez and Cutshaw because the agency has yet to receive a ballistics report from the FBI, which is investigating the incident itself.

Although the shootout happened months ago, Plessinger said the FDLE’s work is far from over. According to her, the agency is still conducting interviews, reviewing video footage and receiving leads from citizens.

“I can tell you that this case is massive,” she said.

So far, the FDLE has generated more than 300 investigative reports on the case and agents have worked more than 1,000 hours, according to Plessinger. “And we have more work to do,” she said.