May 27, 2025
Menelek Clarke, 21, was shot after hitting the officer, which his family says was an accident.
Menelek Clarke was shot by a police officer in Miami after the officer was struck by the man’s vehicle and fired several shots into the car on Sunday, May 25. His family says he was wrongfully shot.
Clarke, 21, is critical, but stable condition after surgery. Menelek Clarke’s attorney, Michael Orenstein, confirmed to The Miami Herald that his client was recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.
According to NBC 6, the incident took place during a Caribbean music festival, the Best of the Best, in downtown Miami. Miami Police Deputy Chief Armando Aguilar said the officer was directing traffic when Clarke’s vehicle made contact with the officer.
The police officer also suffered minor injuries.
“There are a lot of cameras, both Miami Police cameras and private cameras, cameras that are attached to businesses that we are still reviewing,” Aguilar said. “So we don’t know exactly what happened, but we do know there was physical contact between the officer and the vehicle that he ended up firing into. So it’s too soon to tell exactly what happened, we’re still reviewing a lot of that footage.”
Clarke’s sister, Sherylann Clarke, told the media outlet that her brother accidentally hit the police officer.
“We were all stopped, we were in the middle lane, he told everyone else to go with his hands, and then he stood in front of my brother’s car and shot him,” Sherylann Clarke said. “The only one firing the gun was the officer. My brother does not have a weapon on him. There’s no weapons, nothing. He wasn’t carrying anything. When he got out of the car, he still didn’t have a weapon. He was in shock because he just got shot.”
Sherylann Clarke said her brother thought he was going to die and said he was wrongfully shot.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is leading the investigation, and Clarke has not been charged. A Miami Police Department spokesperson declined to provide more information since it was an ongoing investigation.
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