Bodycam Release and an Amended Lawsuit Keep the Wynwood Shooting That Killed Evelyn Valdes in Court
Prosecutors cleared the Miami officers in October. Newly released body camera footage of the June 14, 2025, shooting outside a Wynwood club has now prompted the family of bystander Evelyn Valdes, 28, to amend its lawsuit against the Miami Police Department.
The family of Evelyn Valdes, the 28-year-old bystander killed by a stray police bullet in Wynwood last year, filed an amended lawsuit against the Miami Police Department on October 28, after the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office released body camera footage of the shooting and declined to charge the officers involved, according to reports by NBC Miami/WTVJ and other outlets read by this desk this cycle.
Valdes was celebrating her 28th birthday on June 14, 2025, and was a rear passenger in a car leaving the area near the Electric Lady nightclub when officers fired at Norman Lindo Jr., who had been involved in an altercation and was armed, according to the State Attorney's memo released in October 2026. The memo said Lindo was ordered to drop his weapon and did not comply before Sergeants Jose Cabrera and Javier Herbello and Officer Dorian Acosta opened fire, hitting him several times; a stray bullet struck Valdes, and she died at a hospital.
The family's amended complaint alleges that Sgt. Herbello and Officer Acosta opened fire without warning and without any effort to de-escalate, attorney Ray Rasco said, as reported by WTVJ. The State Attorney's Office disputed that account, saying officers did tell Lindo to drop his weapon, and concluded it was reasonable for the officers to believe their lives or others were in danger. Valdes's mother, Kristy Garcia, has alleged the officers panicked and placed nearby civilians at risk.
The Miami Police Department declined to comment to WTVJ, citing the pending litigation. The criminal review is closed; the civil case in federal court is now the arena where the family's claims, and the footage, will be tested.
