Thirty-year-old Cedrick Perkins, an engaged father of two, came to Miami Beach over Memorial Day Weekend to have a good time. He left with a bullet lodged in chest courtesy of the police. Perkins was one of four innocent bystanders who was hit by a bullet during an incident in which eight Miami Beach and four Hialeah police officers unloaded more than 100 bullets into the car of now-deceased Raymond Herisse. He tells The Miami Herald he now plans to sue.
The incident started when 22-year-old Herisse threatened to run over at least five officer with his car, according to police. Though a gun was found in a remote part of his car, police are not yet sure whether or not Herisse ever fired it during the incident. However, police admit that the 12 officers shot more than 100 bullets in their attempt to stop Herisse.
Some of those bullets found their way into the bodies of four innocent bystanders, and Perkins was shot in the chest. Perkins however was in an ambulance within ten minutes and taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. He was released the next day, but the bullet is still inside of him.
Perkins has hired Tallahassee attorney Benjamin Crump to file a lawsuit against Miami Beach Police.
"It's just common sense if you're on one side road and crowd of people is on the other side of the road, you don't shoot at a car in the middle," Crump tells the Herald. "Why would you shoot into a crowd? They really didn't care about their safety."
Crump claims the officers were reckless and used excessive force.
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