Prosecutors Clear Three Miami Officers in 2025 Wynwood Shooting That Killed Bystander Evelyn Valdes

The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office has concluded that three Miami police officers were legally justified when they opened fire outside a Wynwood nightclub in June 2025, a shooting that killed an armed man and a 28-year-old bystander who was riding in the back seat of a car leaving the area. According to a closeout memo obtained Friday by Local 10 News, no criminal charges will be filed against Sgt. Jose Cabrera, Sgt. Javier Herbello or Officer Dorian Acosta.

The shooting on June 14, 2025, killed Evelyn Valdes, 28, who had been out celebrating her birthday, and Norman Lindo Jr., 30, whom police said was armed with a handgun. Nightclub manager John Fortini was wounded in the hand. The decision closes the criminal review of the officers' conduct, but it does not end the family's federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Miami, two of the officers, a private security company and the nightclub's operator.

What the closeout memo says

According to Local 10's account of the memo, the shooting unfolded shortly before 3 a.m. Cabrera and Herbello were standing outside a restaurant near the nightclub when a private security guard approached them about a theft involving two people accused of stealing phones. The sergeants went to the club to investigate, and Cabrera called for more units. Acosta and Officer Daniela Ruque responded.

While the officers were looking into the alleged theft, a separate altercation broke out near the club's exit involving Lindo and three other men, according to the memo. Authorities said Lindo armed himself with a gun when nightclub co-owner Jake Hermelo tried to restrain him. Herbello and Acosta drew their service weapons and ordered Lindo to drop the gun, the memo states, and Lindo did not comply and kept moving forward with it, according to police.

Cabrera, Herbello and Acosta then fired, striking Lindo several times. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. Prosecutors said their review of the facts, the evidence and the applicable law found the officers' use of deadly force legally justified.

How a bystander was killed

Valdes was a rear-seat passenger in a vehicle that was leaving the area in congested traffic when she was struck by a bullet during the police shooting, according to the memo as described by Local 10. The people in the car realized she had been shot and pulled over about a block away.

The memo lays out the minutes that followed. The timeline below reflects the times reported by Local 10 from the prosecutors' document.

Fortini, the nightclub's manager, was taken to a hospital and treated for the wound to his hand, the memo states.

The family's lawsuit and a different account

Valdes' family filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit in U.S. District Court in July 2026. According to Local 10 and NBC 6, the suit names the city of Miami, Herbello, Acosta, VIP Management Team Corp., which does business as VIP Security Florida, and 144 NW 23rd Street Group LLC, which operates the Electric Lady nightclub. It accuses the defendants of negligence and excessive force.

The family's lawyers, Ramon Rasco and Angelo Martin of Podhurst Orseck, describe the confrontation differently from the memo. They contend that surveillance video shows Lindo holding a gun but never raising, aiming or firing it before officers opened fire. The suit alleges the officers fired approximately 10 to 11 rounds across a crowded street without warning and without trying to de-escalate. Rasco told NBC 6 the officers began shooting without any prior warning or verbal command. Authorities have not said whether Lindo fired any shots.

The lawsuit also alleges that one bullet grazed another passenger in the car and that emergency care was delayed, saying it took about 34 minutes from the first 911 call for Valdes to reach Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, roughly 1.3 miles from the scene. It accuses the security company of failing to screen patrons for weapons and the nightclub of failing to supervise its security contractor. The family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and a jury trial. As of the initial reports, the city and the other defendants had not filed responses, and the allegations have not been tested in court.

Cabrera, the third officer the prosecutors' memo says fired, is not listed among the defendants in the suit as reported.

A family still asking for the investigative file

As is standard for police shootings in Florida, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated the incident. In the months after the shooting, the family's attorneys said they could not obtain key evidence, including the officers' body-worn camera footage, because the investigation was still open, NBC 6 reported.

Valdes' mother met with Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle last week to press for the release of FDLE's investigative report, body camera video and witness statements, according to Local 10. She has said she wants justice for her daughter and consequences for the officer whose bullet killed her. The memo, as described by Local 10, concludes that Valdes was struck during the police gunfire but does not lead to charges against any officer.

Under Florida's public records law, active criminal investigative information is generally exempt from disclosure. With the state attorney's review now closed, the family and news organizations may renew requests for the underlying records, although other exemptions can still apply to parts of the file.

Wynwood and the debate over police gunfire in crowds

The shooting happened near Northwest 23rd Street, in the heart of Wynwood's nightlife district, at roughly the hour when clubs close and the streets fill with patrons and traffic. Witnesses told NBC 6 at the time that they heard about 10 gunshots before people began running.

The case has become a focal point for questions about when officers may fire in a crowded area. The family's lawyers have argued that firing across a busy street, including over a parallel-parked car, violated internal policy. The prosecutors' memo addresses only whether the officers committed a crime, which is a different legal question from whether they followed department policy or whether the city is civilly liable.

What's next

With the criminal review closed, the federal lawsuit becomes the main venue where the officers' decisions will be examined. The city and the other defendants will respond to the complaint, and the case could move into discovery, where the family's lawyers would seek the body camera footage, the FDLE file and officer statements.

The Miami Police Department may also conduct its own internal review of whether the officers complied with department policy. The results of any such review, and the full FDLE report, had not been made public as of Friday.