ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Six Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies involved in a September 2023 fatal shooting have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.

On September 24, 2023, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded to multiple calls of a person armed with a gun who was pointing it at several residents. Deputies found the man, Jorge Armando Ramirez Rivera, in the backyard of a home in the 5500 block of Suncreek Court. Deputies gave Rivera several commands not to reach for his gun during the encounter. Rivera reached for his gun, causing one deputy to deploy his TASER and another to shoot him with a “bean bag” projectile. Rivera continued to raise his gun and fired at the deputies, who returned fire, fatally shooting Rivera.

The state attorney’s use of force policy requires all cases where law enforcement officers use deadly use of force to be presented to a grand jury to determine whether criminal charges are appropriate.

The grand jury was presented with all relevant evidence in the case and returned a no true bill.

The use of force policy allows the grand jury to make a statement regarding policies, procedures and recommendations related to the use of force. The grand jury declined to issue a presentment on the case and chose not to issue a statement on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

The State Attorney’s Office has now closed the use of force case.