A rookie cop shot and killed a man Monday around noon after a traffic stop at 17th Street and Northwest 3rd Avenue in Overtown.
Two officers had pulled over a white sports car -- that was reportedly stolen -- when something happened to make the officer open fire and shoot the suspect in the head.
Police didn't release the name of the cop but family identified the victim as 36-year-old DeCarlos Moore (pictured).
Though witnesses said they didn't know why Moore was shot, the mayor said the police were not shot at.
Moore, who had prior convictions including armed robbery, second degree murder and cocaine possession, was taken to Ryder Trauma Center where he died.
Witness Quentin Gibson, who said he was watching from the next building over when he saw police pull up to Moore's car outside a store, said Moore was reaching for his I.D. when he was shot.
"He went into the store before he noticed that the police stopped him,” said Gibson. “So when he came back to the car is when he went for his drivers license and registration. As he reached in for his drivers license and registration, a shot went off. the cops shot him in the head."
Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado came to the scene, knowing Miami's volatile past with police shooting unarmed black men.
"This is a very sensitive area,” said the mayor. “I wanted to see the community. It's unfortunate, a police-involved shooting we had had for a long time. I just thought I needed to be here."
Moore served nearly 15 years in prison for second degree murder and drug charges. Yet it's not known whether police knew that before they stopped him.
Gibson described the reaction from the veteran female police officer to her rookie partner who fired the shot.
"A shot go off. The police start screaming like he didn't know what he done did," he said. "The female officer told him that it was over, because everybody was coming toward the car to find out what was going on."
Outside the hospital, Joyce Moore, who said she’s the victim’s aunt, talked directly to the rookie cop who pulled the trigger. "And I hope that officer is looking at me and looking at me real good. Because right now we're very hurt. He didn't have to kill him."
Crime technicians and police are still conducting an investigation.
