Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump announced Thursday he would file a $92 million lawsuit in federal court aimed at holding Orlando police accountable for the death of Millie Ortiz, a great-great grandmother killed in a crash in January caused by one of their officers.<\/p>\n
The figure represents $1 million for each of the lively Ortiz\u2019 92 years, the lawyer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to get to the truth for Millie, we\u2019re going to get justice for Millie,\u201d said Crump, surrounded by Ortiz\u2019 large extended family, all wearing white T-shirts bearing a photo of her, flanked by angel wings, at the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Eatonville.<\/p>\n
The lawyer invoked other recent officer-involved crashes that took the lives of people the police were not chasing.<\/p>\n
He referred to the February 2023 death of 28-year-old Delmy Alvarez, a mother of two was killed after an out-of-policy police pursuit in Parramore ended with the suspect running a red light on West Anderson Street and smashing into her car as she moved into the intersection.<\/p>\n
He also cited the death of 56-year-old Gerald Neal, a pedestrian who was run over twice last year as an unmarked police truck chased a vehicle in Holden Heights with an unreadable license plate. That chase also failed to meet the requirements of OPD\u2019s pursuit policy, which allows such a risky procedure only if the suspect is believed responsible for a forcible felony.<\/p>\n
Officers in each of those cases were disciplined with \u201ca slap on the hand,\u201d Crump said, referring to their short suspensions.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour actions speak louder than your words,\u201d he said, referring to Orlando city and police officials. \u201cIf you\u2019re never going to hold anybody accountable for taking the lives of citizens that you swore to protect and serve then whatever you say rings hollow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Milagros Ortiz, known to family and friends as Millie, was a vigorous widowed great-great grandmother who loved dancing, parties and Bingo gatherings with friends that often stretched past midnight, her daughters said.<\/p>\n
She was fatally injured about 1:50 a.m. Jan. 18 when a police SUV drove through a red light at Hoffner Avenue and South Semoran Boulevard and plowed into a Jeep Wagoneer in which Ortiz was a front-seat passenger headed home after a night out with a group of \u201cbingueras.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Judy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/tos-l-dancing-grandma0637.jpg\")
Judy Santiago, daughter of Milagros “Millie” Ortiz, speaks during a press conference with her family and attorney
\nBen Crump to address developments in the death of the 92-year-old great-grandmother, on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n
Taken by ambulance to the hospital, she died the following day.<\/p>\n
Orlando police officer Andrew McKuhen had initially stopped at the red light, but then drove through it to go after a motorist who had made an illegal U-turn, authorities said.<\/p>\n
McKuhen was deemed at first to be the \u201cat fault\u201d driver in a department investigation due to his failure to yield right of way.<\/p>\n
No charges for Orlando cop in \u2018dancing\u2019 grandmother\u2019s death<\/a><\/p>\n But State Attorney Monique Worrell opted against filing charges against him after a review of the incident and video evidence, including traffic camera footage, videos from a nearby convenience store\u2019s security cameras and data from an electronic recorder in the officer\u2019s SUV.<\/p>\n The review was conducted by assistant state attorney Brian Hagner, who serves as chief of Worrell\u2019s traffic homicide division.<\/p>\n While expressing sympathy to Ortiz\u2019 family, she said evidence does not support a charge of vehicular homicide.<\/p>\n \u201cThat charge requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant operated a motor vehicle with reckless disregard \u2014 defined under Florida law as willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property,\u201d Worrell said in a statement emailed to reporters. \u201cEvidence shows Officer McKuhen was on duty, observed a vehicle commit an illegal U-turn, activated his emergency lights upon entering the intersection, and proceeded with caution.\u201d<\/p>\n Video shows his SUV\u2019s emergency lights turned off before the collision. A witness said the police vehicle\u2019s siren never sounded.<\/p>\n Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith, who has not made himself available to discuss the fatal crash with the Orlando Sentinel or TV reporters, appeared last month on the Patrick Carr podcast<\/a> and laid some blame on what he called the police vehicle\u2019s faulty lights.<\/p>\n