Police have named the man who was killed in an officer-involved shooting following a chase in North Miami-Dade as 24-year-old Kristofer Lazaro Laboy.
Laboy, who was driving a yellow Corvette, is said to have fled from deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office when they attempted to conduct a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon. The traffic stop was initiated near Northwest 62nd Street and Northwest 22nd Avenue.
Police initiated the stop because of illegal tints on his car windows, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. What ensued was a chase that lasted for about a mile — involving a helicopter to help police track down the car — and ended in an apartment community near Northwest Fourth Court and Northwest 85th Street.
Police say Laboy exited the vehicle while armed. Kevin Cox, an MDSO deputy with over two decades of experience, opened fire, The Herald reported. Laboy was pronounced dead at the scene.
This is at least the third fatal shooting involving Cox, according to reporting from NBC 6 South Florida. The first happened in September of 2010 when Cox shot and killed a man, who was suspected in a robbery, as he ran from a house in northwest Miami-Dade. No charges were sought in this case.
The second was about a year later when Jamal Singletary, who was suspected of stealing a car, allegedly opened fire on officers and was shot and killed by Cox. This was found to be a justifiable use of force.
Argemis “AC” Colome, a spokesperson for the MDSO, said that what happened Tuesday was “a simple traffic stop.”
“This could have just been a citation, and everyone could have gone home,” he said.
No other injuries were reported in this incident and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting. Cox has since been placed on administrative leave, as is customary while an investigation such as this takes place.
Family members of Laboy have gone to the media to claim the officers did not identify themselves and that their family member thought someone was following him that night.
Laboy’s father spoke with WSVN reporters without giving his name, saying the whole situation was a “misunderstanding.”
“He called me in distress,” the father explained. “He called me and said, ‘Dad, I need help. Come save me, I’m being chased, and I don’t know by whom. You could hear it in his voice; he was scared for his life.”
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners is a 48-year personal injury law firm with a track record of diligently representing injured clients against corporations, individuals and government agencies such as law enforcement. Our skilled trial attorneys have secured record verdicts and settlements throughout Florida. With offices in Miami, Key West and Orlando, Leesfield & Partners has been afforded the opportunity to be a part of numerous historic cases, conveying the compassion and knowledge of the law necessary to deliver the best possible outcome in every case.
Previously, Leesfield & Partners has been successful in recovering damages for the victims of accidents caused by the negligence of federal and state employees’ negligence. In the past, the firm has handled an array of cases involving aviation accidents, maritime law, premises liability, and medical malpractice cases at government-owned and military hospitals.
This type of litigation can create legal hurdles and requires attorneys with specialized knowledge of its complexities.
Previous Cases
Leesfield & Partners attorneys handled a wrongful death drowning case for a husband and father of two young children following the death of his family due to the negligence of the U.S. Navy. In this case, handled by the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, the U.S. Navy failed to maintain its pier in a safe condition, resulting in the deaths of Mr. Grayson’s wife and his two daughters, a 3-year-old and an infant.
Our client was awarded $2.95 million by a federal judge in this case.
“Ivan Grayson, tormented by the mind-numbing horror of the tragedy that wiped his family from the face of the earth, desperately needs to know why this happened,” said U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King.
Leesfield & Partners represented a grieving family against the Federal Aviation Administration in a private aviation disaster. In that case, handled by Mr. Leesfield and co-counsel Mark A. Sylvester, the FAA was sued for the failure of their air traffic controllers to provide crucial severe weather information to the pilot, who perished in a single-engine airplane crash with his mother on board.
The manufacturer of a component part was named in the suit for a component part that powered the flight instrumentation. Additionally, the firm took legal action against the airplane manufacturer and a service facility.
The firm settled the case for over $2.8 million.
In a medical malpractice case involving a government medical facility, Leesfield & Partners secured a $2 million recovery.
In a similar medical malpractice case, the firm obtained a recovery of over $1.9 million.
A separate Federal Tort medical malpractice case resulted in a $1.9 million recovery.
The firm previously went up against a Florida department in a wrongful death case involving the electrocution death of our client’s loved one. The firm obtained a $1.65 million recovery in that case.
In a civil rights case involving the tragic death of our client’s loved one, Leesfield & Partners attorneys secured a $1 million recovery against a city.
The firm represented the estate of a man who was wrongfully killed in a police-involved shooting and obtained a $900,000 recovery for the victim’s family.
Trial Lawyer Bernardo Pimentel II settled a case on behalf of the family of a young lobster diver and father-to-be who was killed during lobster season by a negligent law enforcement officer.
In that case, the officer failed to adhere to divers-down flag laws that call for boaters to operate at idle speed when these flags are present and to keep within a certain distance of these flags. In rivers, inlets and navigational channels, boaters must stay 100 feet away from these flags. In open waters, they should keep a 300-foot distance.