The 1986 FBI Miami shootout occurred on April 11, 1986, in Miami-Dade County, Florida, U.S. (the specific area was incorporated as Pinecrest in 1996), when a small group of field agents for the FBI attempted to apprehend William Russell Matix and Michael Lee Platt, who were suspected of committing a series of violent crimes in and around the Miami metropolitan area.

Although they had partially surrounded the suspects after maneuvering them off a local road, the agents involved quickly found their firepower was outmatched by the weapons which Matix and Platt had in their vehicle.

The scale of the shootout led to the introduction of more effective handguns, primarily switching from revolvers to semi-automatics, in the FBI and many police departments around the United States.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 10, 1973, serving with the military police under the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

[6][7] On December 21, 1984, Platt's wife, Regina, whom he had married nine years earlier in 1975, was found dead from a single shotgun blast to the mouth.

[9] At the time of Platt's killing, his second wife, Brenda, claimed to have had no idea that her husband and his friend were armed robbers.

[citation needed] On October 5, 1985, Platt and Matix murdered 25-year-old Emilio Briel while he was target shooting at a rock pit.

[citation needed] On October 10, 1985, five days after killing Briel, Platt and Matix attempted to rob a Wells Fargo armored truck that was servicing a Winn-Dixie supermarket.

After ordering him to freeze, one of the pair shot a guard in the leg with a shotgun while the other fired a handgun and shoulder weapons from the getaway vehicle.

A few weeks later, on November 8, 1985, the two robbed the Professional Savings Bank in Miami, taking $41,469 in three Wells Fargo Armored Car Company money bags that had been delivered that morning.

[1] They resumed their robberies on January 10, 1986, by attacking a Brinks Armored Car Company courier as he opened the back door of his truck at Barnett Bank in Miami.

A civilian followed them from the scene and witnessed them switch to a white Ford F-150 pickup truck but lost contact thereafter.

[11] On March 12, they robbed and shot Jose Collazo as he was target shooting at a rock pit in the Florida Everglades, leaving him for dead and stealing his black Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

[11] One week later, on March 19, 1986, at 9:30 a.m., carrying a short barrel pump shotgun and a rifle, possibly a Ruger Mini-14, they robbed a Barnett Bank branch.

[1] 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.

[citation needed] Platt, in the passenger seat of the Monte Carlo, brought up a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle, stolen from Jose Collazo, and opened fire at Manauzzi's car.

[13] Hanlon lost his .357 Magnum service revolver during the initial collision, though he was still able to fight with his Smith & Wesson Model 36 backup weapon.

Due to collision damage, Matix could only open his door partially, and fired one shotgun round at Grogan and Dove, striking their vehicle.

[12] As Platt climbed out of the passenger side car window, one of Dove's 9 mm rounds hit his right upper arm and went on to penetrate his chest, stopping an inch away from his heart.

The bullet penetrated Platt's right upper arm, exited below the armpit and entered his torso, stopping below his shoulder blade.

[h] Around this time, Metro-Dade police officers Rick Frye, Leonard Figueroa and Martin Heckman arrived.

A civilian witness described Platt leaving the car, walking almost 20 feet and firing at Mireles three times at close range.

[k] Mireles reached the driver's side door, extended his revolver through the window, and fired his sixth shot at Platt.

[12][14] Toxicology tests showed that the abilities of Platt and Matix to fight through multiple traumatic gunshot wounds and continue to battle and attempt to escape were not achieved through any chemical means.

[14] A subsequent FBI investigation placed partial blame for the agents' deaths on the lack of stopping power exhibited by their service handguns.

Noting the difficulties of reloading a revolver while under fire, the FBI specified that agents should be armed with box magazine-fed semi-automatic pistols.

This incident contributed to the increasing trend for law enforcement agencies to switch from revolvers to semi-automatics across the United States.

[13] In the aftermath, the FBI collaborated with Smith & Wesson to develop the S&W Model 1076 chambered for the 10 mm Auto round.

The other six agents involved in the stakeout in six vehicles had additional weaponry including Remington shotguns, Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns, and M16 rifles, but did not reach the shootout in time to participate.

[16] After the shooting, the families of Jerry Dove and Benjamin Grogan sued the estates of Platt and Matix under the RICO statute for damages.