The previously unidentified innocent bystander who was killed Thursday during police shootout in Miramar, Florida has now been identified as Richard Cutshaw.

The 70-year-old, known as “Mr. Rick,” was driving home from work when he found himself in the middle of what has been described as a war zone.

Cutshaw, who was caught in the crossfire, has been described by neighbors as quiet and private, but also funny and willing to help when he could. “He was a good man. That’s it,” said one neighbor who lived next to Cutshaw for 20 years.

According to a senior law enforcement source, a total of 19 officers from five agencies responded to the incident on Thursday. While the total number of shots fired in the incident that left four dead is currently unknown, a source told CBS4 that it could very well exceed 200 rounds.

****

In what appears set to become a series of shots heard round the world, four people ended up dead at the hands of police after a hijacked UPS truck led law enforcement on an erratic chase in Miramar, Florida.

The deceased include two suspects, a UPS driver who has been identified as Frank Ordonez, as well as an innocent bystander.

On Thursday, an armed robbery at Regent Jewelers in Coral Gables went awry when the silent alarm was triggered at approximately 4:15 pm. At least one woman was hurt during the robbery that soon escalated to the hijacking of a nearby UPS truck, according to Coral Gables Police Chief Edward J. Hudak Jr.

Officials say the two robbery suspects hijacked the truck, taking the driver hostage, before fleeing.

Less than a minute later, police were alerted to shots having been fired across the street at Coral Gables City Hall, with one bullet striking the building, allegedly originating from the fleeing UPS truck, FBI Special Agent in Charge George Piro in charge of the Miami field office, said during a Thursday night briefing. The building went into lockdown after the shooting.

According to officials, the truck then led police on a long chase in which it drove over curbs, made U-turns, and drove erratically while weaving around other vehicles, including those belonging to law enforcement. Dozens of officers were in pursuit during the ordeal that saw the UPS truck speeding through congested streets and intersections. CNN reports that “at one point, the line of emergency vehicles trailing the truck stretched for about half a mile.”

By the time the chase ended, more than 40 emergency vehicles had responded to the incident. Disturbing footage shows police exiting their vehicles and approaching the UPS truck on foot as it came to a stop in heavy traffic. Rather than treat the incident as a hostage situation, police drew their weapons and used bystanders’ vehicles as cover.

As seen in live aerial footage from WSVN, the Ordonez, who according to his brother was covering the route for another driver, left the steering wheel before shots appeared to be fired inside the truck at 5:35 p.m.

https://twitter.com/itsyagirllorena/status/1202738719054319616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1202738719054319616&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthemindunleashed.com%2F2019%2F12%2Fpolice-civilians-shields-ups-truck-shootout.html

According to Piro, both suspects as well as two innocent bystanders were killed during the ordeal. “Unfortunately the suspects are now deceased, but two additional innocent civilians were also deceased,” the agent explained during Thursday night’s press briefing.

“It’s very early in the investigative process, there are a lot of questions that are still unanswered,” he continued.

It remains unknown whether the first shots came from police or those inside the UPS truck and whether or not the driver and bystander were killed by police fire.

And now, family members of Frank Ordonez are speaking out.

Today I lost my brother, because of the fucking negligence and stupidity of the police. Instead of negotiating with a hostage situation they just shot everyone. (Including my brother) please retweet this so everyone can be aware how stupid these cops are. pic.twitter.com/DyFN2ZUoAX

— genny♡ (@geneviemerino) December 6, 2019

Joe Merino, Ordonez’s stepfather, told Local 10 News:

“They murdered him. I hope you can understand that and how I feel because it could have been prevented.”

The driver’s brother, Roy Ordonez, told CNN his brother was an “outgoing and happy” father of two 3 and 6-year-old girls. The 27-year-old enjoyed fishing, playing basketball and video games, and “most of all,” his brother said, “what Frank really liked to do is spend time with his daughters.”

Merino, who called the scene “a war zone,” is lashing out at police and questioning their tactics:

“I have common sense, like we all do, and it shows me, where’s the protocol? Where was protocol? Where was SWAT? Where was the hostage negotiator? Where was the sniper? They shot him dead!”

The negligence, the irresponsibility, the lack of life, the lack of concern. The disregard for life for the victim.”

Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez responded to Merino moments later, saying:

“Their perceptions are because they have lost loved ones, so you can’t argue with the way they view things. They’re speaking with pure emotion and, again, I completely understand and I empathize with the loss of their family.”

Social media users were quick to express their outrage and disgust at what many are calling irresponsible tactics by police, as both aerial news footage and shocking footage from those witnessing the scene unfold firsthand began to emerge.

BREAKING: 19 officers fired into a UPS van that was hijacked in south Florida & used to lead police on a high speed chase, reports @DeFede of @CBSMiami who spoke to a senior law enforcement source.
4ppl are dead:
2 suspects
UPS driver
Bystander in car
pic.twitter.com/ZM5nPbmxQj

— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) December 6, 2019

UPS released the following statement:

“We are deeply saddened to learn a UPS service provider was a victim of this senseless act of violence. We extend our condolences to the family and friends of our employee and the other innocent victims involved in this incident. We appreciate law enforcement’s service and will cooperate with the authorities as they continue the investigation.”

Merino, who maintains the police were only protecting themselves, plans to continue speaking out about his stepson’s murder.

“What bothers me is the fact that the police went home that night to their families; to their daughters and sons and their wives. Frank is never coming back. He wasn’t afforded that right—the right that police is supposed to protect all of us—and they didn’t protect him when he most needed it.”

By Emma Fiala | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com

A veteran Los Angeles police officer is facing an investigation after footage from his body-worn camera appeared to show him groping a recently deceased woman’s breasts.

The officer and his partner, also male, had responded to a call about a possible dead body in a residential unit, reports the Los Angeles Times.

When the officers determined that the woman was dead, one of the officers left the scene to fetch something from his patrol car. At that point, the accused officer turned off his body camera before he allegedly began fondling the dead woman’s breasts, LAPD officials claim.

According to a person briefed on the incident who spoke with the Associated Press, footage of the incident was only captured because of the continuous two-minute buffering period that the cameras are equipped with, resulting in the act being recorded during the two-minutes before the camera was turned back on.

Even the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL), the police union that is typically steadfast in its defense of sworn officers accused of grave misconduct, appeared eager to distance itself from the alleged ghoulish act. In a statement quoted by the Times, the LAPPL said:

“If this allegation is true, then the behavior exhibited by this officer is not only wrong, but extremely disturbing, and does not align with the values we, as police officers, hold dear and these values include respect and reverence for the deceased … This behavior has no place in law enforcement.”

The incident was discovered by LAPD leadership due to routine random checks of bodycam footage, a source close to the investigation told the Times.

LAPD leadership had only reached an agreement last month with the LAPPL for recordings not involving arrests or the use of force to be randomly checked, mainly so that supervisors could seek insights on potential misconduct, biased and rude policing, or other behavior requiring additional training.

However, the source noted, LAPD Central Division management is “furious” over the recent alleged incident which is seen within the department as “way beyond the pale” and “unacceptable.”

The LAPD collects roughly 14,000 recordings per day from the 7,000 bodycams deployed in the field, and over 2.1 million hours are currently stored.

LAPD chief spokesman Josh Rubenstein avoided discussing the details of the case, but acknowledged in comments to Buzzfeed News that an administrative investigation had been launched into the reports that the veteran officer had “inappropriately handled or touched a dead body.” The spokesman added:

“We are going to look at all the evidence [and] we’re going to review body-worn video. We are going to talk to witnesses.”

LAPD Assistant Chief Robert Arcos also told the Times that the footage was “very disturbing.”

By Elias Marat | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com

The internet is once again in an uproar this week after yet another employee of another restaurant offended a cop.

Starbucks — who has been under fire for being pro-police — is now in the media after a barista printed a coffee label for a police officer with the word ‘pig’ on it.

In a crazy twist, however, the daughter of the police chief who made the incident public, took to Twitter to voice her opinion on her dad, which is that he “absolutely is a pig.”

Here at the Free Thought Project, we stay away from using derogatory names for police officers as this only serves to stoke divide and referring to all cops as pigs will never change the minds of cops who really want to do good. However, we always defend the free speech of those who choose to use their first amendment right to refer to cops as ‘pigs.’ Doing it at your job is probably not the best decision though — especially if you want to remain employed.

Over the weekend, the chief of police in Kiefer, OK, Chief Johnny O’Mara took to Facebook to publicly lambaste Starbucks for their anti-police barista. In a now deleted post, O’Mara said one of his officers trekked to Starbucks to get coffee for a dispatcher when he received the insulting label which read, ‘PIG’. Chief O’Mara called the coffee shop and employees there offered to “replace the coffee with a correct label.” But this wasn’t enough, according to the post.

“The proverb ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me’ came to mind,” O’Mara wrote. “This cup of coffee for a ‘pig’ is just another little flag.”

The chief then used his pulpit to claim that those who call police officers pigs, want to burn down society.

“It’s another tiny symptom and a nearly indiscernible shout from a contemptuous, roaring and riotous segment of a misanthropic society that vilifies those who stand for what’s right and glorifies the very people who would usher in the destruction of the social fabric.”

….because kidnapping, caging, and sodomizing people for possessing a plant is “what’s right?” ….because extorting people, often times killing them for their window tint being dark is “what’s right?” ….because stealing property from people who’ve committed no crime is standing for “what’s right?” The list goes on forever.

Yes, there are decent cops out there who truly put their lives on the line to help those in need. But the majority of society’s interactions with police officers involves extortion or kidnapping for victimless crimes — thus the sentiment of many folks wanting to call a man or woman in a uniform, a pig. Newsflash: just because someone doesn’t like being kidnapped and caged for wanting to consume a plant that makes them happy, and resorts to name calling, does not mean they want to “usher in the destruction of the social fabric.”

Nice try though chief O’Mara.

According to the chief’s own daughter, this label is especially fitting for him because, according to her, he is “absolutely a pig.” In an exclusive interview, the chief’s daughter, known on Twitter as Miss O’Mara,  says she often times overshares her private life on Twitter which led to the now viral tweet.

It is important to note, before going any further, that TFTP conducted its own background check on the chief’s history and we haven’t found anything that has been made public about the chief’s misconduct as alleged by his daughter below.

this is my father and i’d like to say that he is absolutely a pig and i’d like to thank the brave men and women from starbucks for their service https://t.co/e7NhPMacHM

— o'mara (@MissOMara) November 30, 2019

“I’d like to say that he is absolutely a pig and I’d like to thank the brave men and women from Starbucks for their service,” @MissOMara wrote on Twitter. “for the record, my father has [zero] business being a police officer.”

“He was blatantly, proudly racist when I was a kid,” she tweeted. “Said things I would never repeat. He treats women like dogs, including his own daughter.”

While the chief claimed that his officers were offended by the coffee cup and demanded an apology from Starbucks, his daughter claimed otherwise.

“The deputy it actually happened to told my mom he didn’t really care and that it was a harmless joke, no big deal,” she tweeted. “but my father is a camera whore who couldn’t resist the attention.”

After her tweet went mega viral, garnering hundreds of thousands of likes and retweets between all the threads, O’mara said she hoped her dad would see it. Her hopes came true and apparently, the chief of police in Kiefer, OK was none too pleased.

update: he has seen it and had someone call my mom to “get that shit off twitter” lmao he is upset

— o'mara (@MissOMara) December 1, 2019

As with any post that doesn’t praise the almighty badge, O’Mara tells TFTP that she has experienced plenty of hate but points out that “it’s not to overwhelming” — meaning there are far more supporters than haters.

O’Mara tells TFTP that she only had 700 followers prior to the tweet. Showing how many people appreciate her message, she now has nearly 19,000. Looks like this chief just created himself his own version of the “Streisand Effect.”

By Matt Agorist | TheFreeThoughtProject.com | Republished with permission