Judge and gavel

CIVIL RIGHTS

US DISTRICT COURT, MIAMI

A federal jury decided a Miami-Dade police officer did not violate the constitutional rights of a 26-year-old man who was killed in a 2012 police shooting.

The estate of hospital worker David Alexis claimed he approached a pickup truck parked near his Miami home and the undercover occupant, Detective Miguel Carballosa, shot Alexis five times. The estate's counsel claimed Alexis was unarmed and didn't realize Carballosa was an officer on a robbery detail staking out a nearby house.

The defense argued Alexis was armed, Carballosa identified himself and acted in self-defense. The estate claimed a gun recovered at the scene was planted by police. The jury sided with the department.

Case: Alexis v. Miami-Dade County

Case No.: 1:14-cv-23285-FAM

Plaintiffs attorneys: Pedro L. Demahy and Mary Margaret Schneider, DLD Lawyers, Coral Gables; and Roy D. Wasson, Wasson & Associates, Miami

Defense attorneys: Jennifer Hochstadt, Bernard Pastor and Ana Viciana, Miami-Dade County Attorney's Office, Miami