By Suzie Ziegler
MIAMI — Officers “followed protocol” and “made every attempt to preserve human life” while attending to a gunshot victim this month, said a Miami Police spokesperson on Wednesday. The statement comes after police released bodycam video of the incident in response to a family’s claims that officers didn’t do enough to save their father.
According to Local 10 News, William Castaneda, 64, was robbed and fatally shot outside his convenience store on Oct. 1. His family has accused officers of not trying hard enough to save him. But police say the officers’ bodycam footage tells a different story.
In the video, two officers are seen kneeling beside Castaneda as an anxious crowd looks on. At one point, an officer takes a gun out of Castaneda’s hand and moves to place hand cuffs. The crowd yells at the officer, saying Castaneda is the victim, not the suspect. It’s unclear if the officer continued to put on handcuffs.
Officers then begin lifesaving measures. An officer calls for first aid and opens a medical kit. In the video, the officer seals the wound, performs CPR and takes Castaneda’s pulse. Medics arrive two minutes later.
“I put a hydro seal and I gave him CPR,” says the officer in the video. “I gotta pulse and he’s responsive again.”
A lawyer for the Castaneda family said he hadn’t seen the footage because his request to view it was denied.
“I would love to review that and that may change my position,” he told Local News 10. “But what I was given by the family ― the city didn’t provide anything.”
According to the report, Local News 10 obtained the bodycam video through a public record request. The suspect who shot Castaneda was still at large last week.
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