‘Relief’: Deputy granted ‘stand your ground’ immunity in 2019 shootout speaks out

A Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputy is speaking out to NBC6 now that attempts to prosecute him for an intense 2019 police shootout in Miramar ended.

On April 2, the State Attorney General voluntarily dismissed the appeal to the “stand your ground” immunity case against Jose Mateo.

For Mateo, it signaled that he can move forward from the violence that unfolded on Miramar Parkway and Flamingo Road more than six years ago.

“Relief, a big relief,” Mateo said, sitting at his attorney’s office in Coral Gables Tuesday. “It was just there in the back of my head that the appeal was still going. And now that it’s really over, it’s a big relief that weight left on my shoulders came off.”

Broward County Judge Ernest A. Kollra granted Mateo “stand your ground immunity” in the incident that killed UPS driver Frank Ordóñez and an innocent bystander, Richard Cutshaw.

NBC6 Investigates has obtained hours of video evidence – shielded from public view for nearly five years – that show what officers saw when they opened fire on fleeing felons who hijacked a UPS truck and kidnapped the driver back on Dec. 5, 2019. Tony Pipitone reports

A video timeline first revealed by NBC6 Investigates confirmed the kidnappers fired first after they hijacked the UPS truck and took Ordóñez hostage.  

Mateo was one of four police officers charged with manslaughter when they opened fire on the kidnappers because the officer’s bullets also struck Ordoñez and Cutshaw, who was sitting in his car at the red light.

“It’s extremely sad and my heart feels for them,” Mateo said, speaking of the victims. “It was such a situation that I never thought I would have to go through. I never thought that being a cop, I was going to have to deal with losing innocent lives in front of me because of the situation I was involved in. I am so sorry for what happened with those two families.”

The criminal case behind him, Mateo is back on the job with MDSO as a K9 deputy.

”A very, very refreshed feeling. Now I had a baby, so it came right on time. Right before the baby was born, I got the news I was getting my job back,” Mateo said.

“We still have to let police officers do their job when they think they need to use force, even deadly force, to save themselves and others. It’s just the world we are living in, it’s just a reality,” said Rick Diaz, who represented Mateo.

Moving forward in his professional life and his personal life as a new father, Mateo takes what unfolded that day in Miramar with him.

“A learning experience,” Mateo said. “It sucks what I went through, but it was something that now you see things a little different. It doesn’t stop me from doing my job and helping the community.”

The three other officers charged, Richard Santiesteban, Rodolfo Mirabal and Leslie Lee were also granted “stand your ground” immunity by the same judge. 

The Broward State Attorney’s Office appealed that decision just as it had in Mateo’s case.

“We are disappointed about the decision regarding Mateo, but we are grateful that the State Attorney General’s Office is still considering what action to take regarding the other three defendants,” the Broward State Attorney’s Office said in a statement.