Miami · Crime & Safety

Mother of bystander killed by Miami police seeks charges after meeting prosecutor

The mother of Evelyn Valdes, a bystander fatally shot by Miami police in Wynwood in 2025, met with the Miami-Dade state attorney seeking criminal charges.

Miami Dade New Courthouse Construction, 1 May 2023
Photo: Illustrative: Phillip Pessar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

The mother of Evelyn Valdes met Friday with Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, hoping to learn whether the Miami police officers who fired in Wynwood will face charges in her daughter’s death.

Kristi Garcia said she wants the Florida Department of Law Enforcement report, body-worn camera footage and witness statements. She walked out of the state attorney’s office saying she wants the officer who fired the round that killed her daughter to be held accountable.

Surveillance video from the night of June 14, 2025, shows chaos outside a Wynwood nightclub after two men began fighting and one pulled a gun. Seconds later, two officers opened fire, killing the armed man, identified as Norman Lindo. Valdes, 28, was sitting in the back seat of a Mazda SUV when she was hit. Police have not described the case in the source as anything other than that night’s shooting.

Sixteen months later, no officer has been charged. The Valdes family has filed a federal civil lawsuit against the city of Miami and the Miami Police Department. Ramon Rasco, an attorney for the family, said he believes prosecutors are not going to file charges, though no final decision has been announced.

Fernandez Rundle has led the office for 33 years and has never charged an officer for an on-duty killing, according to the report. The family said it expects an answer by next Tuesday.

This story is a summary based on reporting by Local 10 News. Read the original for full details.

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