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State Attorney Monique Worrell decries police union criticism following shooting of Orlando officers | Orlando Area News | Orlando

Local State Attorney Monique Worrell is defending her office after facing criticism from the Orlando police union, following the shooting of two Orlando Police Department officers on Friday.

The alleged shooter, Daton Viel, was subsequently killed Saturday morning by an Orlando SWAT team after barricading himself in a hotel near Universal Resorts.

The two officers shot were “critically injured,” according to OPD.

The Orlando police union is pointing fingers for the incident.

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 25 accused the State Attorney Office of the Ninth District Court — covering Orange and Osceola Counties — of being “soft on crime” (not for the first time), writing in a Saturday Facebook post that the office had allowed the man accused of shooting the two officers to just “walk away” from previous charges.

“Monique Worrell’s soft on crime stance has yet again let the citizens of Orlando down,” the union wrote. “When is this reckless behavior going to end?”

The State Attorney’s Office has confirmed that Viel, 28, had three warrants out for his arrest, as of Saturday — two originating in Florida, and one warrant from Georgia.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Viel was also wanted in connection to a fatal shooting in Miami, and has been arrested on multiple felony charges in Orange County since 2016.

But Worrell on Monday cautioned against “finger-pointing” as community members question how the Friday shooting could have occurred, considering his extensive criminal history.

Worrell said that the police union — which endorsed her opponent for her elected position in 2020 — has been spreading misinformation about the criminal legal process in the aftermath of the incident.

“The State Attorney’s Office in particular cannot stop crime from happening,” Worrell shared, admitting that the criminal legal system as it is isn’t perfect. “We can only respond once it has happened.”

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Photo courtesy Monique Worrell campaign

An issue discussed at length, in connection to the “soft on crime” criticism, was bond.

Viel was arrested by Orlando police in March on a charge of sexual battery involving a child between the age of 12 to 16. He bonded out in April and was put on probation.

Bond was set at about $125,000 — which is “unusually high,” according to Worrell. “A bond that high takes into consideration the fact that the court was considering Mr. Viel’s dangerousness or potential dangerousness to the community at that point.”

But bond isn’t set by the state attorney. While the SAO can recommend “no bond,” bond in Orange County is determined by a bond schedule and by the court, said Worrell. It’s within the discretion of the court to determine bond, and that’s typically based on a bond schedule or the discretion of a judge, based on factors pertinent to the case.

Despite the multiple warrants out for his arrest — for violating probation and for fleeing UCF cops in June — Worrell said “until Saturday morning, he was not taken into custody.”

Viel was accused of violating probation in June, she said, by cutting off his ankle monitor.

“Our criminal legal system is an imperfect one, and had he gone through the trial process and been found guilty, then he would have been held accountable,” she stated.

Individuals have a constitutional right to be innocent until proven guilty, Worrell emphasized. “No matter how bad they may be.”

Acknowledging questions and concerns from the public, she continued, “It’s natural to want to find out who’s at fault for why this incident took place, but it is important to understand that the only individual who can be blamed for incidents like these is the individual who took those actions.”

The criminal legal process, she added, “predates this state attorney.”

Worrell and her office have been repeat targets of criticism from the FOP, and she’s also faced criticism from Orange County sheriff John Mina, most recently in the aftermath of a shooting spree in Pine Hills that killed three people in February. The DeSantis administration also questioned Worrell’s office after that incident.

Worrell said the office’s thoughts and prayers are with the two officers injured and the entire police department. “It is not lost upon me the difficulty of the job that law enforcement engages every single day,” she said.

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