The 1986 FBI Miami shootout was a gun battle that occurred on April 11th, 1986, in an unincorporated region of Miami-Dade County in south Florida, between eight Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and two serial bank robbers. During the firefight, Special Agents Jerry L. Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan were killed. The two robbery suspects, William Russell Matix and Michael Lee Platt, were also killed. In addition, five FBI agents were wounded in the incident.
The incident is infamous in FBI history and is well-studied in law enforcement circles. Despite outnumbering the suspects four to one, the agents found themselves pinned down by rifle fire, unable to respond effectively. Although both Matix and Platt were hit multiple times during the firefight, Platt fought on and continued to injure and kill agents. This incident led to the introduction of more powerful handguns in the FBI and many police departments around the United States.
Michael Lee Platt, born February 3rd, 1954, and William Russell Matix, born June 25th, 1951, met while serving in the Army in the 1970s. Matix first served in the Marine Corps from 1969-1972 and was honorably discharged. In 1973, he enlisted in the Army and served in the military police. Matix was honorably discharged from the Army in 1976.
Platt enlisted in 1972 as an infantryman and served with the U.S. Army Rangers. He was honorably discharged in 1979. The pair met while they were stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. Both men had been previously married to women who had died under mysterious circumstances. Matix's wife, Patricia Buchanich, was stabbed to death along with a co-worker on December 30th, 1983, at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus Ohio, where she worked. Matix was a suspect in her murder but was never charged. After his wife's death, Matix moved to Miami at the urging of Michael Platt, where the two began a landscaping business. In December, 1984, Platt's wife Regina was found shot dead with a shotgun. Her death was ruled a suicide.
Prior to embarking on their crime spree, neither Platt nor Matix had a criminal record; however, on October 5th, 1985, Platt and Matix murdered twenty-five-year-old Emelio Briel while they were target shooting in a rock pit. The pair stole Briel's car and used it to commit several robberies. Briel's remains were found on March 1st, 1986, but were not positively identified until May, 1986.
On October 16th, 1985, Platt and Matix attempted to rob a Wells Fargo armored truck in front of a Winn-Dixie supermarket. One of the pair shot a guard in the leg with a shotgun. Two other guards returned fire. Neither Platt nor Matix was injured. No money was taken in the botched robbery.
Platt and Matix robbed a teller station outside a branch of the Florida National Bank. Ninety minutes later, Platt and Matix robbed a branch of the Professional Savings Bank. The pair used Briel's stolen car in the second robbery. Then on January 10th, 1986, Platt and Matix robbed a Brinks armored truck. One suspect shot the guard with a shotgun while the other shot him with a rifle. The guard survived. Platt and Matix used Briel's stolen car in this incident. The pair was followed from the scene by a citizen who saw them switch to a white Ford F-150 pickup truck.
On March 12th, 1986, Platt and Matix robbed and shot Jose Collazo while Collazo was target shooting in a rock pit. The pair left Collazo for dead and stole his car, a black 1979 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Collazo, however, survived the shooting and walked three miles to get help. On March 19th, 1986, the pair used Collazo's car to rob the Barnett Bank at 13595 South Dixie Highway.
A team of FBI agents led by Special Agent Gordon McNeill assembled at a Home Depot to initiate a rolling stakeout searching for the black Monte Carlo (Collazo's stolen car). The agents did not know the identity of the suspects at the time. They were acting on a hunch that the pair would attempt a robbery that morning.
A total of fourteen FBI agents in eleven cars participated in the search. Eight of these FBI agents took part in the actual shootout and were paired as follows;
Supervisory Special Agent Gordon McNeill alone in his car.
Special Agent Richard Manauzzi alone in his car.
Special Agent Benjamin Grogan with Special Agent Jerry Dove.
Special Agent Edmundo Mireles, Jr. with Special Agent John Hanlon.
Special Agent Gilbert Orrantia with Special Agent Ronald Risner.
At about 9:30 a.m., agents Grogan and Dove spotted the suspect vehicle, and began to follow. Two other stakeout team cars joined them, and eventually an attempt was made to conduct a felony traffic stop of the suspects. The suspects were forced off the road following collisions with the FBI cars of agents Grogan/Dove, agents Hanlon/Mireles, and agent Manauzzi. This sent the suspect car nose first into a tree in a small parking area in front of a house at 12201 Southwest 82nd Avenue, pinned against a parked car on its passenger side, and Manauzzi's car on the driver side. Of the eight agents at the scene, two had shotguns in their vehicles (McNeill and Mireles), three were armed with semi-automatic 9mm pistols (Dove, Grogan, and Risner), and the rest were armed with revolvers.
The initial collision that forced the suspects off the road caused some unforeseen problems for the agents, as the FBI vehicles sustained damage from the heavier, older car driven by Matix. Just prior to ramming the Monte Carlo, Manauzzi had pulled out his service revolver and placed it on the seat in anticipation of a shootout, but the force of the collision had flung open his door and sent his weapon flying. Hanlon also lost his .357 Magnum service revolver during the initial collision, though he was still able to fight with his Smith & Wesson Model 36 backup gun. The collision knocked off Grogan's eye glasses, making it impossible for him to see.
Manauzzi was wounded when Matix fired his shotgun and the pellets penetrated the door of his car. McNeill fired over the hood of Manauzzi's car but was wounded by return fire from Platt's Ruger Mini-14 rifle. Platt then fired his rifle at Mireles across the street. Mireles was hit in the left forearm, creating a severe wound. Platt then pulled back from the window, giving Matix opportunity to fire. Due to collision damage, Matix could only open his door partially, and fired one shotgun round at Grogan and Dove, striking their vehicle. Matix was then shot in the right forearm, probably by Grogan. McNeill returned fire with six shots from his revolver, hitting Matix with two rounds in the head and neck. Matix was apparently knocked unconscious by the hits and fired no more rounds. McNeill was then shot in the hand, and due to his wound and blood in his revolver's chambers, could not reload.
As Platt climbed out of the passenger side car window, one of Dove's 9mm rounds hit his right upper arm and penetrated his chest, stopping an inch away from his heart. The autopsy found Platt's right lung had collapsed and his chest cavity contained 1.3 liters of blood, suggesting damage to the main blood vessels of the right lung. Of his many gunshot wounds, this first was the primary injury responsible for Platt's eventual death. The car had come to a stop against a parked vehicle, and Platt had to climb across the hood of this vehicle, a Cutlass. As he did so, he was shot a second and third time, in the right thigh and left foot. The shots were believed to have been fired by Dove.
Platt took up position by the passenger side front fender of the Cutlass. He fired a .357 Magnum revolver at agents Ronald Risner and Gilbert Orrantia
