Distressing new bodycam shows moment woman in car was killed by cop’s stray bullet during Miami shootout
Newly released bodycam footage shows the moment Evelyn Valdes, 28, was fatally struck by police gunfire during a shootout in Miami’s Wynwood neighbourhood. She was sitting in an SUV on her birthday on 14 June 2025; the footage has prompted her family to amend its lawsuit against the Miami Police Department.
Officers fired about 14 shots at Norman Lindo, who was armed and was killed in the exchange. Valdes later died in hospital, and another bystander was injured. The State Attorney’s Office cleared three officers of wrongdoing two weeks before the footage was released, saying officers told Lindo to drop his weapon; the family’s lawyer disputes that account and says officers did not try to de-escalate. Audio is muted during the shooting, and prosecutors said an officer’s camera was muted at that point.
In short
- Evelyn Valdes was killed by police gunfire during a Miami shootout.
- Her family amended its lawsuit after bodycam footage emerged.
- Prosecutors cleared three officers; the family disputes their account.
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The case for
The officers were confronting an armed man in a shootout, and the State Attorney’s Office concluded they had told him to drop his weapon before firing. On this account, the officers faced an immediate threat and used force to stop it; the tragic death of a bystander does not by itself establish that their conduct was unlawful or unreasonable.
The case against
The family’s lawyer argues that officers did not try to de-escalate, and the newly released footage has intensified questions about what happened before the shots were fired. Because the shooting audio is muted, the footage does not resolve whether warnings were given; the bystander’s death and the injury to another person strengthen the case for scrutiny of the officers’ decisions and the investigation.
Explained simply
Miami police shot Norman Lindo during an armed confrontation in the Wynwood neighbourhood in June 2025. Evelyn Valdes, who was sitting in a nearby SUV, was also hit by police gunfire and later died; another bystander was injured.
The case involves questions about how officers responded to the armed encounter and the risks to people nearby. The State Attorney’s Office reviewed the shooting and cleared three officers, while Valdes’s family, through its lawyer, disputes the account of what officers said and whether they tried to calm the situation.