Hialeah cops fired 122 times in killing motorist. City to pay $500,000 to settle lawsuit

Five years after Hialeah police officers fired 122 bullets at a motorist after a dangerous car chase, the city has agreed to pay $500,000 to his family to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit.

The city, in a settlement agreement released on Wednesday, did not admit liability for the Oct. 1, 2017, death of Lester Machado. The federal lawsuit had accused Hialeah police officers of improperly chasing Machado, forcing his car to crash and opening fire when he was not a threat.

The lawsuit was filed by Yolaisy Perez, Machado’s mother. The family’s lawyers declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement that is part of the settlement.

The incident happened on Oct. 1, 2017, starting after a Hialeah police officer claimed she tried pulling over Machado for a broken tag light. Hialeah’s police agency, like most departments, has a policy of not pursuing cars for minor traffic infractions.

But a chase was allowed after a Hialeah officer claimed Machado struck his police car. During a dangerous car chase, Hialeah cops fired at two separate points before a lieutenant forced Machado’s Honda off the road, crashing into a concrete Metrorail pillar on Northwest 79th Street near 35th Avenue.

Surveillance video shows the Hialeah police cars quickly closed in and gunfire rang out almost immediately, striking the disabled car more than 100 times. The lawsuit said the Honda couldn’t have been used as a deadly weapon after it crashed.

“It was visibly disabled with its rear axle partially detached and all of its airbags deployed,” according to the lawsuit filed by lawyers Roberto Pertiera, Domingo Rodriguez and Rick Diaz.

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office cleared the officers involved in Machado’s death of any criminal charges, primarily because of Florida’s “Fleeing Felon” law. The long-criticized law allows police officers to use deadly force against fleeing felons who might be a harm to the public.

Prosecutors said the shooting was justified under criminal law because Machado committed several felonies, including leading cops on a chase and nearly hitting several officers on foot and in their cars, which constitutes aggravated battery.

The lawsuit also alleged that key video surveillance of the chase and shooting has vanished while in police custody and that Machado was denied crucial medical treatment because Hialeah Fire-Rescue and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue could not decide which agency had jurisdiction.

This story was originally published September 21, 2022 at 1:27 PM.