Florida officer cleared in UPS driver shooting, citing stand-your-ground

A Broward County judge cleared Florida police officer Jose Mateo of criminal wrongdoing in the 2019 shooting death of Frank Ordonez, a UPS driver who had been taken hostage during a robbery, ruling that the use of deadly force was justified under Florida’s stand-your-ground law. Mateo, who had been charged with manslaughter in the death of Ordonez, faced a potential trial before the ruling by Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra.

The events unfolded on Dec. 5, 2019, in South Florida. Ordonez, 27, was delivering packages in Miami-Dade County when two would-be jewelry store robbers abducted him and forced him to drive away from the crime scene. A high-speed pursuit ended at a busy intersection in Miramar, Broward County. Prosecutors said Mateo fired the shots that killed Ordonez, and the two robbers as well as a passerby were killed amid a hail of gunfire at the intersection.

Body-worn camera footage played in court showed Mateo pursuing the UPS truck and his partner in the passenger seat with a long gun drawn. The video captured the moments before and during the confrontation, including Mateo approaching the vehicle, the rapid fire, and the moment Ordonez was pulled from the truck. The judge ruled that Mateo had reason to believe deadly force was necessary to end the confrontation and protect those nearby. Mateo remains suspended from duty while the case moves forward in the administrative context, and three other officers are still charged with manslaughter in Ordonez’s death. The Broward State Attorney’s Office said it is reviewing Kollra’s ruling.

The decision adds to a long-running discourse about Florida’s stand-your-ground law, which has been invoked in numerous uses of force cases in recent years. In this instance, prosecutors argued that the shooting was unjustified; defense lawyers contended that the officer acted to stop an armed robbery and hostage situation, and that the law provided legal protection for use of force by a person defending themselves or others. The ruling does not affect the manslaughter charges against the other officers, but it does clear Mateo from criminal liability in Ordonez’s death while the state re-evaluates the case.

The incident began as a violent crime linked to a jewelry store robbery and escalated into a fatal confrontation that drew responses from multiple law enforcement agencies. The framing of the event—hostage scenario, pursuit, and exchange of gunfire—has been central to debates about how stand-your-ground defenses should be applied in high-stakes police encounters and how such cases are reviewed by prosecutors and the courts. The timeline from the 2019 incident to the 2025 ruling reflects both the complexity of the case and the evolving legal standards surrounding the use of deadly force by law enforcement.