ORLANDO, Fla. — Protesters again gathered at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Friday to demand accountability, and answers, following a fatal deputy-involved shooting at the Florida Mall earlier this month.
The Sheriff’s Office identified James Montiel as the deputy who shot 22-year-old Salaythis Melvin as he was running away through the mall parking lot Aug. 7.
Montiel said he feared for his life when Melvin turned his head towards him with his hand on a gun in his waistband.
Deputies had been trying to serve a warrant on another man who was with Melvin before the shooting occurred.
Protesters who were at the sheriff’s office Friday said they were outraged over the shooting. They’re demanding Sheriff John MIna take some kind of action.
“We’re calling for an immediate arrest. If we cannot get an arrest by this afternoon, we are at least asking that James Montiel be fired,” protest organizer Tina Wilson said.
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The group says they were also outraged to learn that Deputy Montiel is one of hundreds in the department who don’t wear body-cameras.
“There is no reason not to put body cams on officers who are going out into the streets to serve warrants,” attorney Natalie Jackson said.
Deputy Montiel is on paid leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates the shooting.
Cox Media Group
