Miami

Miami Beach Cop in Fatal Shooting Has Clean Record

The Miami Beach Police officer who fired the fatal shots that killed a bank robbery suspect on Alton Road has had no incidents in his nearly six years with the department, according to internal affairs records released Thursday.

Officer Fabio Cabrera was hired by the department in February 2010 and has won life-saving awards in Miami Beach and when he was with the Pinecrest Police Department in 2009, the Miami Herald reported.

The Miami Beach award was given earlier this year after Cabrera cut a rope a man had tied around his neck during a suicide attempt, according to the Herald.

Cabrera remains on administrative duty following Saturday's fatal shooting of 51-year-old David Winesett, who police say was wielding a razor and had escaped from a halfway house.

After the escape, Winesett tried to rob the Bank of America at 1414 Alton Road, passing a note that claimed he had a bomb, authorities said. Winesett fled the scene without taking any money, then went into a barbershop about a block away and refused to come out, according to police.

When he finally did, Winesett had removed his shirt and was holding a straight-edged razor, police said. Sgt. Philip Elmore discharged an electronic control device before Cabrera fired the fatal shots, police said.

A bystander posted footage of the incident to the photo-sharing app Instagram, which shows officers surrounding the man, who is shot and falls to the ground.

Elmore, who was returned to regular duty, has been with the department since August 2006 and has had 15 complaints filed against him and been disciplined five times, according to the records released Thursday.

The Fraternal Order of Police told the Herald that Elmore has received more than a dozen letters of commendation for exceptional work and was recently nominated for Crisis Intervention Officer of the Year for stopping someone from jumping off a building.

Elmore was one of the officers involved in the 2011 shooting of 22-year-old Raymond Herisse during Memorial Day Weekend. Police say Herisse fled in his car during a traffic stop and officers opened fire on the car to stop it. Officers surrounded his Hyundai Sonata and ordered Herisse to get out of the car, but he didn't comply. When Herisse kept moving in his car, officers opened fire.

A firearm that was reported stolen in West Palm Beach was found wrapped in a T-shirt on the rear passenger floorboard of Herisse's car, police said. All of the officers involved were cleared of wrongdoing by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.

Miami-Dade County Police are investigating the shooting of Winesett, officials said.

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