New video shows a Hialeah Police officer shooting a driver who authorities said drove a stolen car toward the cop during a 2024 traffic stop.
The surveillance footage obtained by NBC6 on Wednesday shows the May 28, 2024, encounter that left the driver, Lester Ramirez Rodriguez, hospitalized.
The incident began when Hialeah Police received a notice of a stolen vehicle from an automated license plate reader, according to a Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office memo from last month.
Officer Carlos Rios spotted the stolen car, a black 2020 BMW, on Okeechobee Road and followed it on West 29th Street where he attempted a traffic stop.
Rios got out of his cruiser while Rodriguez backed the stolen vehicle up and tried to make a U-turn while driving toward Rios, the memo said.
Rios moved out of the way while firing three shots at Rodriguez, who was shot in the wrist and shoulder.
A surveillance camera from a nearby shopping center captured the incident and showed the vehicle coming to a stop after the shooting.
The incident was captured on police body camera but was witnessed by another officer, the memo said.
Three other people in the BMW including a minor weren’t injured, the memo said.
Rodriguez, 40, was hospitalized and later charged with aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, grand theft of a vehicle, and giving a false name.
Miami-Dade CorrectionsMiami-Dade Corrections
Lester Ramirez Rodriguez
The state attorney’s office memo said Rios’ use of force during the incident was legally justified.
“In this case, based on the totality of the evidence (the video evidence, civilian statements, officer statement, forensic evidence), Mr. Lester Ramirez Rodriguez initiated the threat of deadly force by accelerating the stolen vehicle towards Officer Rios,” the memo said. “Therefore, pursuant to Florida Statutes 776.012, Officer Rios’ use of deadly force is legally justified.”