Andrade v. Collier County Sheriff

The family of Nicolas Morales has filed a federal lawsuit in Fort Myers, Florida against the three Collier County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) officers responsible for the fatal shooting and K-9 dog mauling of Mr. Morales in 2020. Mr. Morales was a 37- year old Immokalee resident, farmworker and loving father. His young son, Nick Jr., has been left an orphan. Mr. Morales’ family also sued the Collier County Sheriff for perpetuating a custom of violence and impunity in the Office.

In the early morning of September 17, 2020, Mr. Morales was suffering from a mental health crisis and desperately wandering around his neighborhood looking for help when a neighbor called 911.

Within 21 seconds of the Sheriff’s Officers arrival on the scene, Mr. Morales had been shot three times.

Another officer then unleashed a K-9 German Shepherd who mauled Mr. Morales while he was gravely injured on the ground and calling for his mother. He died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

The lawsuit names Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk alleging he has perpetuated a culture of violence and impunity within the CCSO.

The Sheriff promoted Cpl Pierre Jean, who shot Mr. Morales, to a full time law enforcement officer mere months before the shooting. This despite him being denied employment in a neighboring county Sheriff’s Office, failing out of the Collier County Law Enforcement Officer Academy and having a long, documented history of poor performance and failure to operate under stressful conditions. He was repeatedly found unable to even state the CCSO’s lethal force policy.

“We need more transparency about what happened to Nicolas. The Sheriff’s Office is trying to sweep this case under the rug but for us, what happened to Nicolas two years ago feels like it just happened yesterday.  We are here and we are still fighting for justice from one of the richest counties in Florida. They have to answer to the people for killing a member of our family. Farmworkers are human beings and we demand to be treated like human beings,” said Jesse Andrade, Nicolas Morales’ step-son and the plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit detailed at least 11 other incidents since 2009 of unwarranted police violence against civilians that did not result in any legal or administrative action against the officers involved.

The MacArthur Justice Center is representing Mr. Morales’ family alongside Chris Lomax of Lomax Legal in Miami, FL and Brent Probinsky of Probinsky & Cole in Sarasota, FL.