More than two years after 12 police officers unleashed a barrage of more than 100 bullets against a motorist on a Miami street, the victim’s family is still waiting to learn why the officers opened fire, says the New York Times. Sixteen bullets hit Raymond Herisse, who was killed sitting behind the wheel. Four bystanders were wounded. They were part of a crowd gathered in South Beach on May 30, 2011, for the final day of Urban Beach Week, a raucous hip-hop and rap event.
It took the Miami Beach police two years to wrap up their investigation. In May, the case was turned over to the Miami-Dade County state attorney, Katherine Fernandez-Rundle. She will decide whether the 12 officers — eight from Miami Beach and four from Hialeah — used excessive force, a process that could still take months. The officers have not yet provided statements to prosecutors. Police have said Herisse, who had arrested 13 times since 2007, was driving recklessly. He was legally drunk, and a handgun was found beneath the driver’s seat, though it hadn’t been fired.