By Police1 Staff
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Police Department’s internal affairs division has cleared two officers of wrongdoing in an officer-involved shooting.
Investigators found Officers Tim Kuzma and Randall Pennington, members of a unit meant to target violent criminals and illegal guns, were not in the wrong when they fired shots in a Target parking lot in November 2010, according to the Orlando Sentinel. An inquiry by Florida Department of Law Enforcement initially found officers’ statements didn’t match up with video or physical evidence at the scene.
According to the officers’ report, shots were fired after Rogelio Cortes tried to run them down with his minivan, WFTV reported. Sgt. Rhonda Huckelbery decided to conduct a takedown when the men inside the van matched the description of those who stole her husband’s credit card and used it to buy a large amount of expensive electronics.
Cortes was treated at the hospital for his wounds and charged with attempted murder on a law enforcement officer and fleeing and eluding. The State Attorney’s Office dropped the charges after they saw the video, which they said shows an officer ram the minivan, pushing Cortes into the police vehicles.
In the investigative summary, the report says although Huckelbery’s decision to conduct the takedown was “poor judgment,” she did not violate any policies.