MIAMI (WSVN) - The trial of a former Hialeah officer accused of kidnapping and beating a homeless man entered day two of testimony, where the victim took the stand.
Former Hialeah Police Officer Rafael Otano is accused of kidnapping and beating a homeless man along with former Officer Lorenzo Orfila on December 2022. Witnesses who found the man were heard for the first time on Monday.
The victim, Jose Ortega Gutierrez, explained what happened in his own words.
“I asked them if we were going to TGK, and they told they me, ‘We’re going to take you for a ride,’” a translator assisting Gutierrez said. “They took me out, they tossed me head first on the floor and they start hitting me, and they were hitting me while I was handcuffed.”
Gutierrez continued his testimony.
“I start walking to a place where there is a townhouse complex,” his translator said. “Over there, there was a gentleman with his lady. He was an officer who was resting. He sees me bleeding, and he asked me, ‘What happened to you?’ and I told him, ‘The Hialeah Police beat me up and robbed me.”
The officers were dispatched to the shopping center on the afternoon of Dec. 17 regarding a homeless man who was known to frequent the area.
Instead of taking him into custody, they handcuffed the man, put him in a patrol car and drove him to a remote location several miles away.
The victim alleges he was taken out of the marked car and while handcuffed, he was beaten and thrown to the ground by the officers.
The victim, Jose Ortega Gutierrez, told investigators that he was left there, unconscious and unhandcuffed. He began walking and was spotted by an off-duty Hialeah police officer who was walking his dog, Fernandez Rundle said. That officer called 911.
“He had a cut, a laceration on top of his head, his face looked swollen, it looked bruised his clothes were torn and he appeared intoxicated,” said the undercover cop. “He just walked up on me and he said he was beaten up, he needs medical attention.”
The owner of a bakery where Gutierrez was seen walking also took the stand on Tuesday.
In opening arguments, Shawn Abuhoff, assistant state attorney, said the biggest piece of evidence was the car that Officer Otano was in.
“They are going to take him through sector five, up to sector six, and out of their own jurisdiction,” said Abuhoff as he pointed to the GPS.
Otano’s lawyers, however, said it’s impossible to prove.
Orfila is expected to be back in court for a status hearing. His trial has not started.
Gutierrez did not appear Monday because he was behind bars on unrelated charges, which include possession of a controlled substance and resisting an officer without violence.
Otano’s trial is expected to last for several days.
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