Two weeks after police chase ends in fatal shooting, Miami cops remain mum on details
A plainclothes Miami police officer working as part of a robbery tactical unit shot and killed a man earlier this month after he climbed a fence and was about to retrieve a gun, police said.
More than two weeks later, Miami Police have released very little information on the fatality. They’ve denied the Miami Herald a slew of public records, from critical information within the incident report, to body-worn camera and audio recordings — even the dead man’s name.
Through nuggets of information from police, a lone media report the day after the shooting and law enforcement sources, the shooting seems to have stemmed from a suspicious police officer in an unmarked car who gave chase after two men she ordered to stop walking took off. It turned fatal when one of the men climbed a fence to allegedly retrieve a gun he had tossed over it and disobeyed the officer’s order to leave it on the ground.
It’s still unclear if there were any witnesses — or even why the officer told the men to stop walking in the first place.
The shooting near the corner of Northwest 62nd Street and Second Avenue happened about 5 p.m. on October 11. The officer — in plainclothes and part of a Miami robbery tactical unit — chased the men, at first in the vehicle, but was out of the car when the fatal shot was fired, according to sources. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
WTVJ Channel 6 was at Miami Police headquarters the next morning when a woman who said her name was Antoinette Jones claimed to be the dead man’s mother. She said her son was home prior to the shooting and had asked her for money to get his hair cut. She called her son “humble” and said his name was Arnicious Odom Jr., and that he was 20 years old.
Jones also told the television reporter that she didn’t have a cellphone and that there was no way to reach her. The Miami Herald has been unable to contact her.
The heavily redacted incident report that police released to the Herald contains information on another man who was with Odom Jr. before he was killed. Marco Brown, 22, was taken into custody after the shooting and charged with aggravated battery of a first responder and possession of a concealed weapon by a convicted felon.
His arrest form lacks a narrative. There is nothing indicating that that Brown was anywhere near the fence when Odom was shot and killed. Miami-Dade Corrections records indicate he was still behind bars at the Metro West Detention Center as of Thursday afternoon. Calls and messages left for Brown’s assigned public defender were not returned by mid-day Thursday.
In a brief press release made public the day Odom Jr. was killed, Miami Police said they were withholding information in the name of transparency.
“The City of Miami Police Department is committed to transparency and accountability in all matters involving use of force by its officers,” the city said in a brief press release issued the day of the shooting. “As this is an ongoing investigation, specific details regarding the incident will not be released at this time. It is vital that the integrity of the investigation is preserved. Any premature disclosure of information could potentially hinder the investigative process.”
Federal and state laws only grant the right to privacy to the living, yet the city has refused to release the dead man’s name. They also haven’t named the officer who fired the fatal shot, citing a law that was intended to protect crime victims from publicity.
In repeated cases throughout the state over the past few years, Marsy’s Law has been co-opted by law enforcement to hide the identities of police who have shot people dead, claiming the officers were victims who feared for their lives. It’s become so prevalent that a case involving two Tallahassee officers who invoked the law is now before Florida’s Supreme Court. The law’s author has said it was not intended to protect police.
The city has also refused to release the very basics surrounding Odom Jr’s death. They won’t say where it happened, what time, or even release information on the deceased’s age, race, sex or address.
While First Amendment and public records experts agree there is certain information that can remain out of the public realm in order to protect open investigations, some also seem to believe the city of Miami has exceeded its authority.
“They’re definitely overstepping their boundaries. It’s outrageous that someone is shot and killed by a police officer and two weeks later the public has no information about how, why or where. It’s antithetical to our whole notion of justice,” said Barbara Petersen, executive director of the Florida Center for Government Accountability.
“They’re [Miami Police] only hurting themselves. They’re breeding distrust. We don’t know exactly what happened. We don’t know why these guys were shot or what crime they may have committed. Was it Walking While Black? If she was doing her job, then what’s the harm in telling people.”
