Shooting survivor, BSO deputy Maury Hernandez hopes $10M 'Claim Bill' gets approved
MIAMI - "I'm a positive thinker. And I have to keep moving forward. I've made it this far, it's been 15 years," said injured BSO Deputy Maury Hernandez.
He is hoping that the Florida Legislature and Governor will approve a $10 million "claim bill." This comes from 2007 when he was shot in the head after a traffic stop. "He turned around, fired twice from his 45 caliber gun," he recalls.
"He shot me in the back of the head with the second bullet he fired from the gun," Hernandez said.
Since then Hernandez has had mobility and cognitive issues, but is moving forward.
The man convicted of shooting him is David Maldonado. He was on probation at the time, carrying a gun.
"The man who shot Maury should not have had a weapon, it was against the law for him to be allowed to have a weapon. His probation officer knew it and did nothing about it," his attorney Lance Block said.
"Is it frustrating that 15 years later, we're still talking about this?" CBS 4's Ted Scouten ask Hernandez. "It is frustrating. It's extremely frustrating. I don't want to be in this situation. I would have hoped something like this would have been solved years ago," he said.
The "claim bill" has been introduced to the legislature before and gone nowhere. What's different this time around is that he has the support of Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony and the union.
"I think having the backing of the sheriff and the union is hugely helpful. They're reaching out to people, legislators, we're not just alone," Block said.
Now, Hernandez is a proud dad to an 11-year-old son. That's his main focus these days, as he hopes to see some movement in his case. "Who knows, maybe this time around things will change and things will happen," he said.
Hernandez is hoping the Florida Senate will approve this in the 2023 session, send it to the house for approval and finally to the governor for his signature.