Orlando attorney Todd Miner was recently interviewed by WESH and WFTV regarding the indictment of an Ocoee police officer who fired shots into an occupied home in the Belhaven Falls subdivision last February. Mr. Miner is representing the family.
“The Ocoee police responded to the wrong home, let’s make that very clear,” Mr. Miner told WESH. “They were asleep when this [the arrival of the Ocoee police at the front door] occurred. The Ocoee police officers arrived at the house and did not announce themselves and began shooting into the house, and obviously Mr. Lewis is lucky and blessed to be alive.”
According to the homeowners, the officers never identified themselves as police after knocking on the door at 1:30 A.M. Frightened, the homeowner grabbed his gun but did not open the front door. However, upon seeing the gun through the glass on the front door, two of the Ocoee police officers fired several shots into the home, with one bullet coming dangerously close to Mr. Lewis’ head. The dispatcher who handled the call was given a written letter of counseling for errors that were made during the call, including relying on cell towers to pinpoint the location of the caller.
Officer Carlos Anglero, who has been with the Ocoee Police Department since 2007, was indicted on Thursday. He was just released from jail on Friday morning and is being formally charged with shooting into an occupied residence. He is currently on administrative leave without pay, while Officer Stephanie Roberts, who also fired shots into the home, was terminated from the Ocoee Police Department.
“To hear that the grand jury indicted at least one of those officers is good news to them. They (homeowner’s family) have clearly been suffering emotionally,” Mr. Miner told WFTV.
