The circumstances of the April 27 shooting at a west Kissimmee Target parking lot that left a 20-year-old dead were based on a “horrific policy” of Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the deceased man’s family’s attorneys said Wednesday.
Two Sheriff’s deputies — still unnamed — discharged their weapons, the Sheriff confirmed, and 20-year-old Jayden Baez, was shot through the windshield and later died at an area hospital. Joseph Lowe, 19, was shot multiple times and is still in the hospital.
Lowe and Michael Gomez, 18, were later arrested and charged with petit theft; they are accused of stealing a frozen pizza and Pokemon cards from the store.
Mark Nejame and Albert Yonfa, of NeJame Law, wrongful death attorneys representing Baez, Lowe and their families, said Wednesday they are investigating “in preparation for the multi-million dollar lawsuit to be filed against the Osceola County Sheriff’s Department, Osceola County, and all those individuals and entities responsible for this grotesque misuse of police authority and use of unnecessary and excessive force.”
That was written Tuesday in a release from the law firm. During a press conference Wednesday, the lawyers reiterated what happened is “extremely disturbing.”
Aside from a press release the Sheriff’s Office released about an hour before the lawyers’ conference, Sheriff Marcos Lopez has been tight-lipped, noting the incident investigation was turned over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement “because I believe in transparency.”
“I am confident FDLE will perform a thorough and independent investigation. Once the facts of what took place are determined, I will comment,” he said in the release.
NeJame and Yonfa noted, and Lopez corroborated in the release, that Sheriff’s deputies were in the Target parking lot performing “tactical exercises” — they were in tactical gear and none of the initial deputies on scene were equipped with body cameras.
“This is incredibly dangerous, why they put citizens and customers in danger,” NeJame said. “This horrendous policy led to the death of one young man and maiming of another — over a theft of $30 to $40.”
He said deputies followed the men through the store, aware they had stolen the items, let them leave the store and get into a black Audi driven by Baez. At that point, they became “Human guinea pigs.”
“The reason they weren’t stopped was they were experiments for the tactical training,” NeJame said. “They were blocked in the parking lot with unmarked vehicles. Young men who are blocked in would attempt to leave.
“With that, a hail of bullets descended on them. So much of this is tragic. Not only was the driver killed on the spot by a hail of bullets, but Joseph put his hands up. Was does that say? I’m innocent, I give up, I have nothing in my hands.”
NeJame and Yonfa maintain Baez was shot through the windshield, and Lowe was shot three times in each hand, with one of his fingers shot off.
No body cams on, if they knew they’d make an arrest, they’d have their body cams on,” NeJame said, noting they’ve requested video footage from Target and neighboring businesses.
Yonfa called it an “Escalation of ludicrous proportions.”
“The crime punishable is the lowest magnitude possible (a 2nd degree misdemeanor) in Florida. Now a 20-year-old is dead and a 19-year-old is maimed. Nothing in Target is worth a human life.”
The attorneys said there is no indication Sheriff’s deputies knew there was a weapon in the car.
Here is Lopez’s statement, in its entirety:
I believe in transparency and facts.
It is important that the community understands I turned the investigation regarding my deputy’s use of deadly force over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) the night of the shooting and they are the agency who will be conducting interviews and gathering evidence. The Sheriff’s Office is not involved in that process. However, I am aware of the circumstances leading up the shooting.
Immediately prior to the shooting, several members of my agency were performing training exercises in a nearby parking lot. Because they were training, my deputies were wearing tactical gear and none of the initial deputies on scene were equipped with body cameras. It is also a fact that suspects in this case stole items from Target and got into a vehicle. It is at this point my deputies attempted to detain the individuals in the car. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating exactly what took place during the attempted detention of the suspects. I turned the investigation over to FDLE because I believe in transparency, and I am confident FDLE will perform a thorough and independent investigation. Once the facts of what took place are determined, I will comment. However, I am not going to speculate and potentially provide erroneous information to the community when I personally do not know the facts.
I am not releasing the names of the deputies involved in the shooting because their identity is protected under the Florida Constitution through what is referred to as Marcy’s Law. I also did not release the names of the suspects, because I was unaware if they have also invoked Marcy’s Law and I want to be as fair as possible during this tragic incident.
I ask the media and the community for their patience as we wait for the investigation to be completed. It is important that all of us, my agency, the community, and the media, wait for the truth.
NeJame addressed the Sheriff’s Office talk of transparency.
“If you have full transparency, you let the truth stand where it is,” he said. “Instead, the unjustified use of force led to the death of a 20-year-old.”
NeJame also kept at arms length any calls that the shooting was racially motivated.
“It’s premature to say there was and wasn’t racial bias, but it’s something we have to look at,” he said.
NeJame noted the average FDLE investigation takes about 90 days, after which it makes recommendations for disciplinary action — it doesn’t take the action.
