Domestic situation leads to armed man shot, killed by police in Hialeah

MIAMI - A man is dead in Hialeah after three police officers responded to a domestic situation and were reportedly forced to fire their weapons at him when he pointed a firearm at them.

Hialeah Police responded to the home in the 500 block of West 53rd St. at 7 a.m.

Steadman Stahl, the President of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association that represents officers from Hialeah, said three officers who were on the scene fired their weapons at the unidentified man.

Stahl said, "We had some officers dispatched to a domestic incident with a firearm. When they approached, they encountered a very agitated gentleman with a firearm in his hand. He was very agitated. The officers gave him numerous, numerous commands to drop his firearm. He did not. He pointed the gun at police officers who had no other choice but to take his life."

"It was light enough in the morning so they could see that he had a weapon," he said. "No officer ever wants to take someone's life but they were being dispatched and these domestic situations are extremely volatile. Unfortunately, when someone confronts an officer with a firearm it is never going to go well for subjects."

He said, "We don't know what lead up to it. There are body cameras that were in use and that will be part of the investigation. These domestic violence calls that we see out there, it's the nature of what is happening out there. The emotions are high."

Stahl was asked if this could have been a situation of a "suicide by cop" where someone was trying to get officers to kill himself but Stahl said he had no idea if that was the case.

Neighbor Jose Gonzalez said he was surprised by what happened.

"I have lived here 50 years," he said. "I told everyone I heard the helicopter go back and forth."

Another neighbor who did not want to provide her name said there has been an increase in crime in the neighborhood in the past few years.

"It's really been bad in the past few years," she said. "I hate it. I hate it. This is becoming common."

She said, "I am not surprised. There was a murder in another home on 53rd Street."

Hialeah Police said that homicide happened a few years ago and a suspect was arrested in that case.

They said this latest case was an isolated incident and there was no danger to the public.

They were not commenting on camera because the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was investigating the shooting.

In a statement, FDLE said this was an active investigation and they could not comment further.