Doral cop won’t be prosecuted for shooting teen during unauthorized car chase

Last year, as Hialeah police officers embarked on a high-speed car chase involving a group of young people suspected of an armed robbery, a Doral cop named Michael Acosta suddenly joined the pursuit — without telling anyone, even though his own department had ordered its officers to “cancel pursuit and not engage.”

He zoomed alongside the fleeing Mercedes-Benz on the Palmetto Expressway, confusing Hialeah officers who thought he was just a random motorist. Somewhere on the Palmetto, Acosta fired at least two shots while inside his own unmarked car, striking one of the teenage suspects. And when the chase finally ended in Broward County, Acosta jumped out, pummeled the driver, lingered around the scene and then left without ever reporting his involvement to anyone.

Acosta’s bizarre shooting, prosecutors have now determined, did not break the law.

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has ruled that Acosta was justified in shooting at the fleeing Mercedes-Benz. The reason: Florida’s “fleeing felon” law, which allows officers to shoot at suspected felons who may be a danger to the public.

“Although Officer Acosta did not radio that he had joined the pursuit, or notify anyone that he had fired, it is clear that he was in fresh pursuit of reported armed and dangerous fleeing felons,” said the final memo, which was completed last month.

The decision outraged the attorney for Gabriel Rodriguez, who was shot in the neck and ankle and remains jailed in Miami-Dade awaiting trial on armed robbery charges. He’s since recovered.

“There were at least 10 other police units from different departments who were in this pursuit who did not even consider discharging weapons,” attorney Justin Beckham said on Wednesday. “And yet, the State Attorney’s Office cleared and justified Acosta’s actions, even though he was in an unmarked car and totally out of his jurisdiction.”

Acosta is not back on the job and could still be fired.

According to the police union and the department, Acosta remains relieved of duty as Doral police’s internal-affairs unit probes whether he broke any department policies while engaging in the chase and shooting.

Prosecutors also cleared Acosta in an earlier “road rage” incident in Hialeah involving a gun. According to a second memo, Acosta was in his unmarked Chevrolet Impala police car and cut off a motorist, who took a photo of the vehicle.

Acosta got out of his car holding his gun and confronted the man. “He told the [man] to get back in his truck then closed the door on him,” according the memo by prosecutor Johnette Hardiman. The motorist later told investigators he “was not in fear” when Acosta drew his weapon, which prosecutors said made a charge of aggravated assault unprovable in court.

The Miami Herald first chronicled Acosta’s shooting last year.

The chase started, police say, when Rodriguez and two others committed a robbery during a drug deal at a Holiday Inn Express in west Hialeah. They escaped in the silver Mercedes-Benz driven by Titilopemi Naomi Olusola, 22. In the front passenger’s seat was her cousin, Emmanuel Akinbehinje, 20, and Rodriguez was in the back passenger seat.

The chase briefly went through Doral, before winding up on the Palmetto. Hialeah officers stopped chasing once it went into Broward County. Miami-Dade officers continued the chase, which ended when the Mercedes-Benz, turning right onto State Road 7, collided with a Miami-Dade police car, hitting a pole next to a gas station.

As the car tried backing up, Acosta jumped out of his Impala and began furiously striking the driver, Olusola, police body-camera footage showed.

When the chase ended, Rodriguez yelled that he’d been shot and Miami-Dade police officers called for paramedics. Acosta left the scene, Assistant State Attorneys Hardiman and Sandra Miller-Batiste wrote in their memo.

“At no time did Acosta advise his department of his participation in the pursuit, the apprehension of the subjects, or the firing of his weapon,” they wrote.

Once investigators figured out Acosta was involved, Doral police took his weapon. Ballistics tests confirmed two bullets — one found in Rodriguez, the other inside Acosta’s car — matched the officer’s gun.

This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 12:13 PM.