(Drivers license photos). (FBI), If I could change something Id change that, Mireles said. It added a more realistic style of training as opposed to shooting in straight lines at stationary targets. Suspects. However, five of the other vehicles that were involved in the operation but did not participate in the shootout contained more shotguns, MP-5 submachine guns, and M16 rifles in their trunks which would have probably changed the outcome of the shootout. and manufacturers. Would better weapons have helped? On the morning of April 11, 198625 years ago todayone of the deadliest and most violent shoot-outs in FBI history unfolded . Its what you have until you can work to something better. he said. Agents were wounded and had to shoot one-handed; a couple of agents performed more than one mag change. Criticism has been leveled at the FBI for not equipping all the agents with protective ballistic vests despite the fact that they knew they were going after Dade county suspects who were always armed during their heists. While gelatin testing is commonplace, this was the first time that anyone had developed an objective methodology for the evaluation of law enforcement ammunition based upon real world shooting situations. During the crash Platt and Matix were pinned between a civilian Oldsmobile Cutlass (left), a tree, and FBI Agent Manauzzis bureau Buick. Both of their wives died under suspicious circumstances, both seemed fairly normal to their Florida friends and neighbors, and neither had a criminal record. The story of the April 11, 1986 FBI shootout in Miami as told by S/A Ed Mireles, a participant, survivor and hero of the firefight. couldn't figure out how to stop the completely. With his buddy knocked out, he maneuvered to the side of a nearby civilian Cutlass, and fired using his revolver before he dropped it after taking a hit through the arm. The stress of the incident caused temporal distortion, giving Mireles the sense that things were happening in slow motion. Despite multiple injuries, including a shot to the lung by Doves 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol that would later be credited with the bandits ultimate death, Platt climbed out of his car, which was pinned between bureau Buicks and a pair of civilian vehicles, and continued to fire. Even as he lay in a daze after being shot in the head and having his arm destroyed by rifle fire, he still maintained situational awareness, tracked the location of the felons and kept his weapon oriented toward the likely threat. Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. It just wasnt in the thought, he said. Its known Platt fired a minimum of 40 rounds from his weapon, the report states. Look for a box or option labeled Home Page (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) or On Startup (Chrome). To repeat, bullet size does matter when trying to stop a large land mammal like a human being. Mireles was gravely wounded during the fight, but never gave up. In the tests where hollow point bullets had to penetrate barriers like dry wall and plywood, expansion was rare. . On April 11, 1986 a firefight ensued between 8 FBI agents and 2 . They are full of holes. A hard-front sight focus is important when precision fire is required, and many officers have reported achieving this in gunfights and making good hits. Everything was documented for future reference so the tests could be reproduced by anyone with the equipment to validate the original findings. Only two of the 8 agents involved in the firefight had any type of ballistic protection but none of the protection worn was designed to stop the .223 rifle rounds fired by Platts Mini-14. Thats when Mireles, who was seriously wounded in the left arm early on, saw his chance. Talking things over with the other agents also helped him to understand how his actions fit into the larger picture, since there was no formal group debriefing for the agents to allow them to piece it all together. A memorial marker dedicates a stretch of Southwest 82nd Avenue in Pinecrest to FBI Special Agents Jerry Dove and Benjamin Grogan, who were killed in a shootout on April 11, 1986. Firearm Discussion and Resources from AR-15, AK-47, Handguns and more! Kind of like getting a trophy for being on a sports team even if you rode the bench. On April 11, 1986, FBI Special Agent Ed Mireles and seven of his fellow agents fought against two heavily armed felons in a desperate battle in an unincorporated part of Miami, Florida. By the grace of God and the discipline of the responding patrol officers, no shots were fired at friendlies, but it could have been very different. The rear of Agent Ben Grogans Buick was left coated in Platts blood as he worked around it, first killing Grogan and Agent Jerry Dove, and then shooting Agent John Hanlon. That cost would have been prohibitive. You're responsible. . 02:14. Shots through both wallboard and plywood showed that the hollow point was routinely plugged by material and the projectile performed as if it were a round nose (ball) bullet. Six shots were fired at the back of the vehicle with two rounds missing and three rounds striking Matix in the head and killing him. The FBI was strictly buying ammo based on cost, but after that they started the Ballistic Research Facility, which has changed everything affecting law enforcement ballistic forces across the nation, said William Petty, a vehicle tactics expert with Certrifuge Training LLC who has studied the Miami Shootout as part of his work. Today well be breaking down the Miami-Dade Shootout. Everything is plastered with the soft drink's logoone of the most recognizable and best logos in the world. I will say, however, that this is no mere example of armchair quarterbacking. Genres History. Weve learned after 34 years of cop-ing that theres a reason that a lot of departments have a very strict or no pursue policy, because the juice isnt worth the squeeze., If nothing else, more than 30 years of dissecting the Miami Shootout has shown an endless appetite for what-ifs over that day. __.___ Page s! Many small people dont have large hands. Ballistic gelatin, a testing medium scientifically correlated to simulate muscle tissue, was used in the testing. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Both Platt and Matix then approached the wounded guard and executed him with a military-type .223 caliber shoulder weapon with witnesses describing either an AR-15 or Mini-14 style rifle, March 19th, 1986 Platt and Matix robbed the BarnettBank, 13593 South, Smith & Wesson Model 3000 12-Gauge Pump-Action Shotgun (#6 shot allegedly used). At least one switched to a secondary weapon. One of those changes, as I mentioned earlier, was the move to the .40 S&W cartridge. While it can be disputed how much of this training contributed to the results of the shootout, what can be said is that despite their superior numbers, Platt and Matix were able to square off against the 8 agents for 5 minutes before being taken down. Despite life-threatening injuries, he managed to move offensively and terminate the lethal threat, while fighting off an overwhelming desire to surrender to the fatigue that was overcoming his body and mind. But he didnt actually give up the fight. The following agencies are permitted to claim copyright (as well as trademarks) and any works of these agencies should be assumed to be copyrighted without clear evidence to the contrary: Works by defunct state agencies may be copyrighted if these rights were transferred to a new or different agency (note that legislation transferring such right may not have been codified into Florida Statutes). FBI Fun and Games! No officer wants to shoot an innocent citizen or officer by mistake. architecture/construction firm) retains copyright rights to the image unless the contract with the agency says otherwise. This led the FBI transition from revolvers to high capacity pistols. Savage Arms 1911: Revolutionary Reliability. Photo by Miami-Dade PD.jpg. I have no idea which is accurate. Although Mireles had his badge displayed in the middle of his chest, the plain clothes worn by him and his fellow agents made it more difficult for responding patrol officers from Metro-Dade PD to identify the agents as law enforcement. The photo shows all the guns of all the agents patrolling Miami looking for the robbers, not just the guns of the agents involved in the shootout. I think you will find it, and Pauls other content, well worth your time. Obviously these calibers required large frame weapons. Losers. The 1986 FBI Miami shootout was a gun battle that occurred on April 11, 1986 in an unincorporated region of Dade County in South Florida (renamed Miami-Dade on November 13, 1997) between eight FBI agents and two serial bank robbers.During the firefight, FBI Special Agents Jerry L. Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan were killed, while five other agents were wounded. So you have guys who are trying to figure something out on the fly. This simulates standard wall construction. An officer who is experiencing a strong physiological response to stress may have a hard time moving from a target focus to a front sight focus, but if he can gain his composure, it will enhance his ability to use his sights and deliver shots with precision, as Mireles did. Unless agents were part of a SWAT unit, they simply werent authorized to carry semiautomatic weapons, Mireles said. The FTU (Firearms Training Unit) gathered national experts on wound ballistics: military experts, homicide investigators, and medical examiners. After a furious four-minute shootout in which 145 total rounds were fired, the two bad guys were killed, but so were two agents, while the others were all wounded. Mireles reports that discussing the shooting and its lasting emotional and physical effects with the other agents who were there was a great help. 4/11/86 MIAMI, FL PART 3 OF 4 BUFILE: 89-6047. (FBI). How the FBI reignited the pistol caliber war . Get the 76th edition of the World's Greatest Gun Book. These two had some great parents. (Agents) Gordon (McNeill) and Jake (Hanlon) both stated that they felt the most vulnerable when they ran out of ammo and had to reload. However, this consensus caused its own problems. But how deep does our knowledge go? (Standard windshield glass mounted at a 45 angle.) Mireles and his fellow agents performed extraordinarily well in a dynamic, dangerous and difficult fight. With blood on their hands, Matix and Platt committed the first of several armed robberies using Briels stolen car as both an assault and getaway vehicle. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ballisticaviation/. However if you read the forensic analysis with autopsy photos and crime scene photos, read the agent's reports (they are on the FBI's website as a freedom-of-information disclosure) and if you . Enter https://www.police1.com/ and click OK. 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