Remembrance: Detective Cesar Echaverry

Remembrance: Detective Cesar Echaverry
Article & Artwork  by Jonny Castro

On August 15, detectives from the Miami-Dade Police Department spotted a vehicle which was involved in an armed robbery that occurred earlier in the day. The driver refused to exit the vehicle for the detectives and eventually took off, striking their patrol car and another civilian vehicle as it fled the scene. The suspect bailed out from the car after crashing into a light pole and engaged the officers in a running gun battle. During the exchange of over two dozen gunshots, Detective Cesar Echaverry was struck in the head and the gunman was killed. The Detective was rushed to the hospital where, after two days of fighting, he was removed from life support. Detective Cesar Echaverry was a 5-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department and was assigned to the Robbery Bureau, where he worked in the elite Robbery Intervention Detail, often responsible for tracking down fugitives or those wanted for major crimes in some of the county’s most crime-ridden neighborhoods. He had a lifelong love for baseball and the Florida Marlins. Detective Echaverry  Played the game with a high level of skill and even came back to his high school to help condition and offer guidance to the young athletes. He leaves behind a fiancé who he was currently planning a wedding with, both parents and a sister. Detective Echaverry was 29-years old.