Orlando, Florida — On July 3, 2023, around 1:51 a.m., three Orlando police officers on bicycles were conducting proactive patrols at East Jefferson Street and North Orange Avenue when they approached 26-year-old Derek Diaz in a car. Bodycam videos shared by police shows officers approaching Diaz’s car, ordering him to turn off his music and put his hands on the steering wheel. Police said at the time he was suspected of illegal drug activity and pulled over. “Give me that. Give me the other one, and put your hands on the steering wheel right now,” officer Jose Velez told him, pointing to two items in Diaz’s hands that appear to be wrapped in foil. Officer Velez then told Diaz not to move. Another officer opened the driver’s side door.
Diaz turned to the other side and opened the center console. “Put your hands on the steering wheel, put your hands on the steering wheel,” Velez said. Diaz appeared to again reach toward the console. Then, Velez shot. Just hours after the shooting, Police determined that Diaz had drugs on him, but he was not armed with a weapon. A separate angle from the officer on the passenger side shows a small item flying from the driver’s side window just before the shooting. The police department said this object was “later identified as narcotics.” Police went to aid Diaz after the shooting.
The bodycam footage shows Diaz being dragged out of his car and onto the ground, where an officer began to perform CPR. Orlando police continued to perform CPR on Diaz until the Orlando Fire Department arrived. Diaz was pronounced dead at the hospital. The investigation is ongoing.
News by Breaking911
