The 1986 FBI Miami shootout occurred on April 11, 1986, in
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous county in ...
, U.S. (the specific area was incorporated as
Pinecrest in 1996), when a small group of
field agent In espionage, a field agent is an agent who works in the field as opposed to one who operates at the office or headquarters. A field agent can work alone or in a group but usually has a case officer who is in charge.
Field agents can be undercover ...
s for the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
attempted to apprehend William Russell Matix and Michael Lee Platt, who were suspected of committing a series of violent crimes in and around the
Miami metropolitan area
The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...
.
Although they had partially surrounded the suspects after maneuvering them off a local road, the agents involved quickly found their firepower was outmatched by the weapons which Matix and Platt had in their vehicle. During the gun battle which ensued, Platt in particular was able to repeatedly return fire despite sustaining multiple hits. Two
Special Agents died from their wounds, while five other agents were injured by gunfire. The shootout ended when both Matix and Platt were killed.
The incident is infamous as one of the most violent episodes in the history of the FBI and is often studied in law enforcement training. The scale of the shootout led to the introduction of more effective handguns in the FBI and many police departments around the United States.
Background
![Jerry Dove and Ben Grogan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Jerry_Dove_and_Ben_Grogan.jpg)
Michael Lee Platt (February 3, 1954 – April 11, 1986) and William Russell Matix (June 25, 1951 – April 11, 1986) met while serving in the U.S. Army at
Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee, Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). F ...
, Kentucky.
Matix first served in the
U.S. Marine Corps from 1969 to 1972, working as a cook (
MOS 3371) in the officers' mess, serving in Hawaii and Okinawa from April 1970 to March 1971 and April 1971 to March 1972 respectively. He was honorably discharged July 7, 1972, achieving the rank of Sergeant. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 10, 1973, serving with the
military police
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...
under the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He served as a Military Police Officer and Squad Leader; Guard Supervisor for the Post Stockade and finally Patrol Supervisor before his honorable discharge August 9, 1976.
Platt enlisted in the Army 27 June 1972 as an infantryman. While in basic training, Platt applied for Army Airborne
Ranger
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
Training and subsequently entered Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. On completion of air assault school, Platt was assigned to the Military Police Unit. It was in this unit that he met and served with Matix. This is also where he met his first wife, Regina Lylen. He was honorably discharged in 1979.
Both men's former wives had died under violent circumstances. Matix's wife, Patricia Mary ( Buchanich) Matix, and a female co-worker, Joyce McFadden, both cancer researchers, were found stabbed to death on December 30, 1983, at
Riverside Methodist Hospital
Riverside Methodist Hospital is the largest member hospital of OhioHealth, a not-for-profit, faith-based healthcare system located in Columbus, Ohio.
As a regional tertiary care hospital, Riverside Methodist is host to a number of specialty cen ...
in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
, where both women worked. Both were found murdered in the hospital laboratory. They had been bound and gagged with their throats slashed.
Matix reportedly told investigators he suspected Platt had carried on an affair with his wife. Matix was a suspect in the murders but was never charged.
After his wife's death, Matix moved to Florida at Platt's urging, and the two founded
Yankee
The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...
Clipper Tree Trimming Service, a landscaping and tree removal business. In May 1985, Matix married Christy Lou Horne, who moved out of the house two months later when Matix became enraged after learning she was pregnant. She would give birth to their son after Matix's death.
On December 21, 1984, Platt's wife, Regina, whom he had married nine years earlier in 1975, was found dead from a single shotgun blast to the mouth. Her death was ruled a suicide. He married his second wife, Brenda Horne, in January 1985.
Before embarking on their crime spree, neither Platt nor Matix had a criminal record. At the time of Platt's killing, his second wife, Brenda, claimed to have had no idea that her husband and his friend were armed robbers.
On October 5, 1985, Platt and Matix murdered 25-year-old Emilio Briel while he was target shooting at a rock pit. The pair stole Briel's car and used it to commit several robberies. Briel's remains were found in March 1986 but not identified until May. On October 10, 1985, five days after killing Briel, Platt and Matix attempted to rob a
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
armored truck that was servicing a
Winn-Dixie supermarket. After ordering him to freeze, one of the pair shot a guard in the leg with a shotgun while the other fired a handgun and shoulder weapons from the getaway vehicle. Two other guards returned fire, but neither Platt nor Matix was wounded. No money was taken in the botched robbery, but the injured guard later died from his wound. A few weeks later, on November 8, 1985, the two robbed the Professional Savings Bank in Miami, taking $41,469 in three Wells Fargo Armored Car Company money bags that had been delivered that morning.
They resumed their robberies on January 10, 1986, by attacking a
Brinks
The Brink's Company is an American private security and protection company headquartered outside Richmond, Virginia. Its core business is Brink's Inc.; its sister brand Brink's Home Security company operates separately and is headquartered in ...
Armored Car Company courier as he opened the back door of his truck at Barnett Bank in Miami. The attack was initiated by one of them shooting the guard in the back with a large gauge shotgun. Both approached the wounded guard and shot him twice more with a military type .223 caliber weapon described by witnesses as an
AR-15
An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...
or
M16
The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...
style rapid firing rifle. Afterwards, they escaped with $54,000 in the Chevrolet they had stolen from Emilio Briel. A civilian followed them from the scene and witnessed them switch to a white
Ford F-150
The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford since the 1948 model year. Slotted above the Ford Ranger in the Ford truck model range, the F-Series is marketed as a range of full-sized pickup trucks. ...
pickup truck but lost contact thereafter. The guard survived the shooting, but was left with over 100 shotgun pellets in his body.
On March 12, they robbed and shot Jose Collazo as he was target shooting at a rock pit in the
Florida Everglades
The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...
, leaving him for dead and stealing his black
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a two-door coupe that was manufactured and marketed by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. Deriving its name from the city in Monaco, the Monte Carlo was marketed as the first personal luxury car of the Chevr ...
. Collazo survived the shooting and walked three miles to get help.
One week later, on March 19, 1986, at 9:30 a.m., carrying a short barrel pump shotgun and a military type shoulder weapon, possibly a
Ruger Mini-14
The Mini-14 is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Introduced in 1973, it is based on the M14 rifle and is essentially a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO.
It is made in a number of variants, inc ...
, they robbed the
Barnett Bank
Barnett Bank was an American bank based in Florida. Founded in 1877, it eventually became the largest commercial bank in Florida with over 600 offices and $41.2 billion in deposits. Barnett was purchased by NationsBank in 1997.Ginzl, David: "The ...
branch. This was the same bank where they had shot and robbed the Brinks Armored Car courier a few months earlier. $8,338 was stolen. The suspects fled in Collazo's vehicle.
The shootout
At 8:45 a.m on Friday April 11, 1986, a team of FBI agents led by Special Agent Gordon McNeill assembled at a
Home Depot
The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the l ...
to initiate a rolling
stakeout
Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...
searching for the black 1979
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a two-door coupe that was manufactured and marketed by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. Deriving its name from the city in Monaco, the Monte Carlo was marketed as the first personal luxury car of the Chevr ...
(Collazo's stolen car). The agents did not know the identity of the suspects at the time. They were acting on a hunch that the pair would attempt a robbery that morning. A total of 14 FBI agents in 11 cars participated in the search. Eight of these FBI agents took part in the shootout and were deployed as follows:
* Supervisory Special Agent Gordon McNeill (a 20-year veteran)
* Special Agent Richard Manauzzi (a 15-year veteran)
* Special Agent Benjamin Grogan (a 25-year veteran), with Special Agent Jerry Dove (a 4-year veteran)
* Special Agent
Edmundo Mireles Jr., with Special Agent John Hanlon (a 23-year veteran)
* Special Agent Gilbert Orrantia (a 4-year veteran), with Special Agent Ronald Risner (an 18-year veteran)
Around 9:30 a.m., agents Grogan and Dove spotted the suspect vehicle, and began to follow. Two other stakeout team cars joined them, and eventually an attempt was made to conduct a
traffic stop
A traffic stop, commonly referred to as being pulled over, is a temporary detention of a driver of a vehicle by police to investigate a possible crime or minor violation of law.
United States
A traffic stop is usually considered to be a T ...
of the suspects, who were forced off the road following collisions with the cars of FBI agents Grogan/Dove, agents Hanlon/Mireles, and agent Manauzzi. These collisions sent the suspect car nose first into a tree in a small parking area in front of a house at 12201 Southwest 82nd Avenue, pinned between a parked car (on its passenger side) and Manauzzi's car on the driver side.
Of the eight agents at the scene, two had
Remington 870
The Remington Model 870 is a pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, LLC. It is widely used by the public for shooting sports, hunting and self-defense, as well as by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.
De ...
shotguns in their vehicles (McNeill and Mireles), three were armed with
Smith & Wesson Model 459 9mm semi-automatic pistol
A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...
s (Dove, Grogan, and Risner), and the rest (six) were armed with Smith & Wesson
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
s; two had
.357 Magnum
The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...
s and five had
.38 Special
The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & ...
s. Two of the agents had backup .38 Special revolvers (Hanlon and Risner); both would use them at some point during the fight.
The initial collision that forced the suspects off the road caused some unforeseen problems for the agents, as the FBI vehicles sustained damage from the heavier, older car driven by Matix.
Just prior to ramming the Monte Carlo, Manauzzi had pulled out his
service revolver
A service pistol, also known as a personal weapon or an ordnance weapon, is any handgun issued to regular military personnel or law enforcement officers. Typically, service pistols are revolvers or semi-automatic pistols issued to officers, ...
and placed it on the seat in anticipation of a shootout,
but the force of the collision flung open his door, and according to reports, his weapon either went flying out the door or was thrown to the floor.
Hanlon lost his .357 Magnum service revolver during the initial collision, though he was still able to fight with his
Smith & Wesson Model 36
The Smith & Wesson Model 36 (also known as the Chief's Special) is a revolver chambered for .38 Special. It is one of several models of J-frame revolvers. It was introduced in 1950, and is still in production in the classic blued Model 36 and the ...
backup weapon. The collision knocked off Grogan's
glasses
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples or ...
, and there is speculation his vision was so bad that he was unable to see clearly enough to be effective (a claim disputed by the FBI's medical director, who stated that Grogan's vision was "not that bad"). Grogan is credited with landing the first hit of the gunfight, wounding Matix in the forearm as he leaned out of the Monte Carlo to fire the shotgun at Grogan and Dove.
Manauzzi was unable to recover his revolver and was wounded in the head and back by a shotgun blast, thought to be from Matix. McNeill fired over the hood of Manauzzi's car but was wounded by return fire from Platt. Platt then fired his rifle at Mireles who was running across the street to join the fight. Mireles was hit in the left forearm, creating a severe wound.
Platt then pulled back from the window, giving Matix opportunity to fire. Due to collision damage, Matix could only open his door partially, and fired one shotgun round at Grogan and Dove, striking their vehicle. Matix was then shot in the right forearm. McNeill returned fire with six shots from his revolver, hitting Matix with two rounds in the head and neck. Matix apparently was knocked unconscious by the hits and fired no more rounds. McNeill was then shot in the hand and, due to his wound and blood in his revolver's
chambers
Chambers may refer to:
Places
Canada:
*Chambers Township, Ontario
United States:
*Chambers County, Alabama
* Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County
* Chambers, Nebraska
* Chambers, West Virginia
* Chambers Township, Hol ...
, could not reload.
As Platt climbed out of the passenger side car window, one of Dove's 9mm rounds hit his right upper arm and went on to penetrate his chest, stopping an inch away from his heart. The autopsy found Platt's right lung had
collapsed and his
chest cavity
The thoracic cavity (or chest cavity) is the chamber of the body of vertebrates that is protected by the thoracic wall (rib cage and associated skin, muscle, and fascia). The central compartment of the thoracic cavity is the mediastinum. There ...
contained 1.3 liters of blood (
haemothorax
A hemothorax (derived from hemo- lood+ thorax hest plural ''hemothoraces'') is an accumulation of blood within the pleural cavity. The symptoms of a hemothorax may include chest pain and difficulty breathing, while the clinical signs may incl ...
), suggesting damage to the main blood vessels of the right lung. Of his many gunshot wounds, this wound was the primary one responsible for Platt's eventual death. The car had come to a stop against a parked vehicle, and Platt had to climb across the hood of this vehicle, an
Oldsmobile Cutlass
The Oldsmobile Cutlass was a series of automobiles produced by General Motors' Oldsmobile division between 1961 and 1999. At its introduction, the Cutlass was Oldsmobile's entry-level model; it began as a unibody compact car, but saw its greates ...
. As he did so, he was shot a second and third time, in the right thigh and left foot. The shots were believed to have been fired by Dove.
Platt chose a position by the passenger side front fender of the Cutlass. He fired a .357 Magnum revolver at agents Ronald Risner and Gilbert Orrantia, and was shot a fourth time when turning to fire at Hanlon, Dove, and Grogan. The bullet, fired by Orrantia's revolver, penetrated Platt's right forearm, fractured the
radius bone
The radius or radial bone is one of the two large bones of the forearm, the other being the ulna. It extends from the lateral side of the elbow to the thumb side of the wrist and runs parallel to the ulna. The ulna is usually slightly longer tha ...
and exited the forearm. This wound caused Platt to drop his revolver. It is estimated that Platt was shot a fifth time shortly afterwards, this time by Risner. The bullet penetrated Platt's right upper arm, exited below the armpit and entered his torso, stopping below his shoulder blade. The wound was not serious.
Platt fired one round from his
Ruger Mini-14
The Mini-14 is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Introduced in 1973, it is based on the M14 rifle and is essentially a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO.
It is made in a number of variants, inc ...
at Risner's and Orrantia's position, wounding Orrantia in the left shoulder with shrapnel created by the bullet's passage, and two rounds at McNeill. One round hit McNeill in the neck, causing him to collapse and leaving him paralyzed for several hours. Platt then apparently positioned the Mini-14 against his shoulder using his uninjured left hand.
![Ed Mireles](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Ed_Mireles.jpg)
Dove's 9mm pistol was rendered inoperative after being hit by one of Platt's bullets. Hanlon fired at Platt and was shot in the hand while reloading. Grogan and Dove were kneeling alongside the driver's side of their car. Both were preoccupied with getting Dove's weapon working and did not detect that Platt was aggressively advancing upon them. Platt rounded the rear of their car and killed Grogan with a shot to the chest, shot Hanlon in the groin area, and then killed Dove with two shots to the head. Platt then entered the Grogan/Dove car in an apparent attempt to flee the scene. As Platt entered Grogan and Dove's car, Mireles, able to use only one arm, fired the first of five rounds from his
pump-action shotgun
Pump action or slide action is a repeating firearm action that is operated manually by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge and typically to coc ...
, wounding Platt in both feet.
At an unknown time, Matix had regained consciousness and he joined Platt in the car, entering via the passenger door. Mireles fired four more rounds at Platt and Matix, but hit neither.
Around this time,
Metro-Dade police officers Rick Frye, Leonard Figueroa and Martin Heckman arrived. Heckman covered McNeill's paralyzed body with his own. Frye assisted Hanlon.
[
Platt's actions at this moment in the fight have been debated. A civilian witness described Platt leaving the car, walking almost 20 feet and firing at Mireles three times at close range. Mireles does not remember this happening. Officer Heckman does not remember Platt leaving the Grogan/Dove car. Risner and Orrantia, observing from the other side of the street, stated that they did not see Platt leave the car and fire at Mireles. However, it is known for certain that Platt pulled Matix's Dan Wesson revolver at some point and fired three rounds.]
Platt attempted to start the Grogan/Dove car. Mireles drew his .357 Magnum revolver, moved parallel to the street and then directly toward Platt and Matix. Mireles fired six rounds at the suspects. The first round missed, hitting the back of the front seat. The second hit the driver's side window post and fragmented, with one small piece hitting Platt in the scalp. The third hit Matix in the face, and fragmented in two, with neither piece causing a serious wound. The fourth hit Matix in the face next to his right eye socket, traveled downward through the facial bones
The facial skeleton comprises the ''facial bones'' that may attach to build a portion of the skull. The remainder of the skull is the braincase.
In human anatomy and development, the facial skeleton is sometimes called the ''membranous viscerocr ...
into the neck, where it entered the spinal column and severed the spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the spi ...
. The fifth hit Matix in the face, penetrated the jaw bone and neck and came to rest by the spinal column. Mireles reached the driver's side door, extended his revolver through the window, and fired his sixth shot at Platt. The bullet penetrated Platt's chest and bruised the spinal cord, ending the gunfight.
The shootout involved 10 people; two suspects and eight FBI agents. Of the 10, only one, Special Agent Manauzzi, did not fire any shots (his firearm was thrown from the car in the initial collision), while only one, Special Agent Risner, was able to emerge from the battle without a wound. The incident lasted under five minutes yet approximately 145 shots were exchanged.
Toxicology
Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...
tests showed that the abilities of Platt and Matix to fight through multiple traumatic gunshot wounds and continue to battle and attempt to escape were not achieved through any chemical means. Both of their bodies were drug-free at the time of their deaths.
Aftermath
A subsequent FBI investigation placed partial blame for the agents' deaths on the lack of stopping power
Stopping power is the ability of a weapon – typically a ranged weapon such as a firearm – to cause a target (human or animal) to be incapacitated or immobilized. Stopping power contrasts with lethality in that it pertains only to a weapon's ...
exhibited by their service handguns. While some agents were equipped with 9mm semi- automatic pistols, most had revolvers, which made up the majority of the weapons used in the fight. The FBI soon began a search for a more powerful cartridge to issue to all agents. Noting the difficulties of reloading a revolver while under fire, the FBI specified that agents should be armed with box magazine
A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges withi ...
-fed semi-automatic pistols. This incident contributed to the increasing trend for law enforcement agencies to switch from revolvers to semi-automatics across the United States.
In the aftermath, the FBI initially chose the S&W Model 1076 chambered for the 10mm Auto
The 10mm Auto (10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and later produced by ammunition manufacturer ...
round, but its sharp recoil proved too much for most agents to control effectively, and a special reduced velocity loading was developed; commonly referred to as the "10mm Lite" or "10mm FBI". Soon afterwards Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.
Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...
developed a shorter cased cartridge based on the 10mm, the .40 S&W. This became more popular than its parent due to the ability to chamber in standard frame semi-automatic pistols initially designed for the 9mm Parabellum.
Other issues were brought up in the aftermath of the shooting. Despite being on the lookout for two violent felons who were known to use firearms during their crimes, only two of the FBI vehicles contained shotguns (in addition to Mireles, McNeill had a shotgun in his car, but was unable to reach it before or during the shootout), and none of the agents were armed with a rifle. Only two of the agents were wearing ballistic vest
A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions. ...
s, and the armor they were wearing was standard light body armor, designed to protect against handgun rounds, not the .223 Remington
The .223 Remington (designated as the 223 Remington by the SAAMI and 223 Rem by the CIP) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed in 1957 by Remington Arms and Fairchild Industries for the U.S. Continental Army Command ...
rounds fired by Platt's Mini-14 rifle. The other six agents involved in the stakeout in five vehicles had additional weaponry including Remington shotguns, Heckler & Koch MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...
submachine gun
A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...
s, and M16 rifle
The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...
s, but did not reach the shootout in time to participate.
Weaponry and wounds
Agents
Killed in action
* Benjamin Grogan: Smith & Wesson Model 459 9mm semi-automatic pistol, nine rounds fired. Killed by a .223 gunshot wound to the chest.
* Jerry Dove: Smith & Wesson Model 459 9mm semi-automatic pistol, 20+ rounds fired. Killed by two .223 gunshot wounds to the head.
Wounded in action
* Richard Manauzzi: lost control of weapon in the initial vehicle collision, no shots fired. Minor wounds from shotgun pellets.
* Gordon McNeill: Smith & Wesson Model 19
The Smith & Wesson Model 19 is a revolver produced by Smith & Wesson that was introduced in 1957 on its K-frame. The Model 19 is chambered for .357 Magnum. The K-frame is somewhat smaller and lighter than the original N-frame .357, usually known a ...
.357 Magnum revolver (not FBI issue, but personally owned .357's and .38's could be approved for carry by supervisors, same applies with Mireles's Smith & Wesson Model 686), six rounds .38 Special
The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & ...
+P fired. Seriously wounded by .223 gunshot wounds to the right hand and neck.
* Edmundo Mireles: Remington 870
The Remington Model 870 is a pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, LLC. It is widely used by the public for shooting sports, hunting and self-defense, as well as by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.
De ...
12-gauge
The gauge (or commonly bore in British English) of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the inner diameter (bore diameter) of the barrel.
Gauge is determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the f ...
pump-action shotgun, five rounds of 00 buckshot fired; .357 Magnum revolver; Smith & Wesson Model 686, six rounds .38 Special +P fired. Seriously wounded by a .223 gunshot wound to the left forearm.
* Gilbert Orrantia: Smith & Wesson revolver (model unknown, likely a Smith & Wesson Model 13, as it was an issued weapon at the time) .357 Magnum revolver, 12 rounds .38 Special +P fired. Wounded by shrapnel and debris produced by a .223 bullet near miss.
* John Hanlon: Smith & Wesson Model 36
The Smith & Wesson Model 36 (also known as the Chief's Special) is a revolver chambered for .38 Special. It is one of several models of J-frame revolvers. It was introduced in 1950, and is still in production in the classic blued Model 36 and the ...
.38 Special revolver, five rounds .38 Special +P fired. Seriously wounded by .223 gunshot wounds to the right hand and groin.
Unwounded
* Ronald Risner: Smith & Wesson Model 459 9mm pistol, 14 rounds fired, Smith & Wesson Model 60
The Smith & Wesson Model 60 revolver is a 5-shot revolver that is chambered in either .38 Special or .357 Magnum calibers. It was the first revolver produced from stainless steel.
Design
A stainless steel development of the Smith & Wesson Model 36 ...
.38 Special revolver, one round .38 Special +P fired.
Culprits
*William Matix: Smith & Wesson Model 3000 12-gauge pump shotgun, one round of #6 shot fired. Killed after being shot six times.
*Michael Platt: Ruger Mini-14
The Mini-14 is a lightweight semi-automatic rifle manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. Introduced in 1973, it is based on the M14 rifle and is essentially a scaled-down version chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO.
It is made in a number of variants, inc ...
.223 Remington
The .223 Remington (designated as the 223 Remington by the SAAMI and 223 Rem by the CIP) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed in 1957 by Remington Arms and Fairchild Industries for the U.S. Continental Army Command ...
semi-automatic rifle with folding stock, at least 42 rounds fired, Smith & Wesson Model 586 .357 Magnum revolver, three rounds fired, Dan Wesson .357 Magnum revolver, three rounds fired. Killed after being shot 12 times.
Lawsuit
After the shooting, the families of Jerry Dove and Benjamin Grogan sued the estates of Platt and Matix under the RICO statute
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
RICO was en ...
for damages. The lawsuit was dismissed because the families did not allege the "kind of recovery that RICO was designed to afford."
Memorial
In 2001, the Village of Pinecrest, Florida, which incorporated in 1996, honored the two fallen agents by co-designating a portion of Southwest 82nd Avenue as Agent Benjamin Grogan Avenue and Agent Jerry Dove Avenue. Street signs and a historical marker commemorate the naming of the roadway in Grogan and Dove's honor.
Dove, a West Virginia native, had Jerry Dove Drive named after him in Clarksburg, West Virginia
Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. The population of the city was 16,039 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg micro ...
, where the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division
The Criminal Justice Information Services Division (or CJIS) is a division of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) located in Clarksburg, Harrison County, West Virginia. The CJIS was established in February 1992 and is the lar ...
is located. He earned degrees from both West Virginia University and Marshall University.
In 2014, the FBI Miami field office moved to its new home in Miramar, Florida, dedicating the two towers of the new office space in memory of Dove and Grogan in a ceremony in April 2015. The first floor contains a memorial to Dove and Grogan. Every year on April 11, the FBI Miami office holds a fallen agent ceremony in honor of Dove, Grogan, and all FBI agents killed in the line of duty.
Media adaptations
* In 1988, NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
produced the made-for-television movie '' In the Line of Duty: The F.B.I. Murders'' depicting the circumstances leading up to and including the shootout, one of several films in the ''In the Line of Duty'' series produced during the 1980s and 1990s. Michael Gross portrayed William Matix and David Soul
David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943) is an American-British actor and singer. He is known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television series ''Starsky & Hutch'' from 1975 to 1979; Joshua Bolt on ' ...
portrayed Michael Platt. Ronny Cox
Daniel Ronald Cox (born July 23, 1938) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. His best-known roles include Drew Ballinger in ''Deliverance'' (1972), George Apple in ''Apple's Way'' (1974–75), Ozark Bule in '' Bound for Glory'' (1976), Co ...
portrayed Ben Grogan, and Jerry Dove was portrayed by Bruce Greenwood
Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He is known for his role as the American president John F. Kennedy in '' Thirteen Days,'' for which he won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion ...
.
* An episode of the short-lived TV series '' FBI: The Untold Stories'' featured a portrayal of the shootout.
* The event is the subject of an episode of the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
's series ''The FBI Files
''The FBI Files'' is an American television docudrama series that originally ran from 1998 to 2006 on the Discovery Channel and produced by New Dominion Pictures. The show was cancelled in 2006. However, Court TV Mystery, Discovery, and its siste ...
'' sub-titled "Firefight", originally aired: March 2000.
* In 2012, Investigation Discovery
Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...
aired an episode of ''Real Vice Miami'' that recounts the shootout in detail. Rey Hernandez portrayed William Matix and Nestor Lao portrayed Michael Platt. Robb Erwin portrayed Ben Grogan and Jerry Dove was portrayed by Alexis Aguilar. The program includes first-person commentary by retired FBI Special Agents Gil Orrantia and John Hanlon, who both survived the gunfight.
See also
* North Hollywood shootout
The North Hollywood shootout was a confrontation between two heavily armed and armored bank robbers, Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Mătăsăreanu, and members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in the North Hollywood district of Los Ange ...
* Norco shootout
The Norco shootout was an armed confrontation between five heavily armed bank robbers and deputies of the Riverside County and San Bernardino County sheriffs' departments in Norco, California, on May 9, 1980. Two of the five perpetrators and ...
* 2021 Sunrise, Florida shootout
Notes
References
External links
Shootout Scene from In the Line of Duty
*
Agents Dove and Grogan Avenue, Pinecrest, FL
FBI inquiry into the incident
''Real Vice Miami: The Bloodiest Day''
{{DEFAULTSORT:FBI Miami shootout
1986 in Florida
1986 mass shootings in the United States
1986 murders in the United States
1980s crimes in Florida
1980s in Miami
April 1986 crimes
Attacks in the United States in 1986
Bank robberies
Conflicts in 1986
Deaths by firearm in Florida
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Law enforcement operations in the United States
Mass shootings in Florida
Mass shootings in the United States
Robberies in the United States