A detective shot their son through a closed door. His family is suing for answers

On the afternoon of May 30, a Florida City police detective fired his service weapon twice through an apartment door.

A young man standing behind the door, 23-year-old Juvon Simon, was hit. He died 13 minutes later on the floor.

That’s about all the information that’s been released about the case five months later.

The Florida City Police Department has not released its report into the shooting nor will it turn over the personnel file of the officer who shot Simon, Frantz Hardy. Police Chief Pedro Taylor did not respond to a request for comment, and attorneys for the family say they are woefully short on answers.

“That a taxpayer-funded police officer working for you, his file is off limits because he happens to be involved in the homicide of their son,” attorney Christopher Marlowe said Wednesday morning outside of Florida City Hall, referring to Simon’s parents, Youseline and Levi Simon. The family is suing Florida City and the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office for information in the case.

“We are seeking not today money from the Florida City Police Department, we are seeking not money from the State Attorney’s Office, but we are seeking information, information to important questions regarding why any law enforcement officer would feel justified firing his weapon through a closed door without a defined target on the other side,” Marlowe said about the lawsuit filed this month in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court.

Miami-Dade police detectives, who are investigating the shooting, said at the time that Hardy and another detective were at the apartment complex at 1406 NW Second Avenue conducting a criminal investigation. Miami-Dade detective and spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta told reporters in May that when Hardy and his colleague arrived at the complex Simon “was there. A confrontation ensued. Shots were fired.”

Zabaleta said Florida City officers were looking for Simon before the shooting, but it wasn’t clear why. He also said police found a gun after searching the property. The apartment belonged to Simon’s friend. He lived with his family across the street.

Miami-Dade Detective AC Colome said Thursday the “case is still open and active, and it is under administrative review. Once finalized, it will be forwarded to the [State Attorney’s Office].”

Marlowe said Simon and his friends had been constantly hounded by Hardy. The police detective arrested Simon several times, but each time prosecutors ended up not filing charges.

“It’s easy to put a case on someone. Sometimes, it’s too easy to put a case on someone,” Marlowe said.

Marlowe said Hardy likely fired his weapon through the door “out of frustration” because none of his arrests of Simon stuck in court.

“We are still a nation of laws the last time I checked,” Marlowe said.

Both the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner and the State Attorney’s Office consider the case still under investigation. Lorna Salomon with the State Attorney’s Office said the investigation is “open and pending.” The medical examiner has yet to release the autopsy, only confirming Wednesday that Simon died of “gunshot wounds.”

But, Marlowe argues that if it is an open, pending investigation, why won’t Florida City respond to questions about Hardy’s status on the force and why he’s still employed as a cop?

“If this is an open, pending investigation as our office has been told by the Miami-Dade Police Department, by the Florida City Police Department, by the State Attorney’s Office, why is Officer Frantz Hardy still on the job after killing their son,” Marlowe said. “That would suggest, I think, to a reasonable person, he has been, if not exonerated, cleared in some unknown manner for killing their child.”

Youseline Simon said she watched her son die that day.

“They didn’t even bother to call an ambulance. It was 13 minutes on the floor until he passed away,” she said.

“He had a smile on his face after he shot my son,” she said. “Like he was happy he killed my child.”

Marlowe said eyewitnesses say that before officers said they found a gun on the property, Hardy left the apartment and returned with a duffel bag and closed the door. He then emerged with a gun, Marlowe said.

“We have significant questions of how that unfolded, legitimate questions. While I’m not overtly accusing Officer Hardy at this time of planting evidence, certainly that this evidence has been brought to us unambiguously by eyewitnesses to this shooting raise very serious questions about how the firearms that were claimed to be on her son made their way into that apartment,” Marlowe said.

He also said video footage from a security camera at the apartment complex should perfectly capture the path Simon took before he was confronted by Hardy. The video, Marlowe said, is fluid right up until the time Hardy’s SUV passes Simon. Marlowe said the video, which was obtained by Simon’s sister two to three days after the shooting, from that point on contains “skips and edits.”

“When you look at this video you can see with your own eyes that figures jump from one point to the other. Cars appear and disappear. People appear and disappear,” Marlowe said. “And all the important points that substantiate the eyewitness testimony of Officer Hardy potentially manipulating this crime scene, possibly planting a weapon at the crime scene are no longer available on the clip that we see. Now, who did that and why, we do not know. The most benign parts are pretty fluid.”

The Simons said they want “justice” for Juvon, which they say would be answers. Answers about what led up to Hardy shooting their son. Answers about who is conducting the investigation, and why is it taking so long to release basic information.

Levi Simon said his son left the world the same way he arrived:

“Friendly. Always smiling from zero to 23. He’s my friend. I can still see him the moment at 23 he walked out of my house. The next six minutes, I heard gunshots.”

Follow David Goodhue on Twitter @DavidGoodhue

This story was originally published November 1, 2018 at 8:30 AM.