Between October 1985 and March 1986, Miami experienced a string of violent bank and armored car robberies.
Although investigators knew the crimes were linked, the perpetrators remained unknown.
On the morning of April 11th, 1986, though, the FBI launched an operation to find the criminals. One hour later, special agents Benjamin Grogan and Jerry Dove were dead and five more were wounded.
The following is the story behind the bloodiest day in FBI history.
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Crime Wave in Miami
William Matix and Michael Platt met in 1975 while serving as MPs at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and they quickly became close friends.
When Matix’s wife was murdered in 1983, Platt convinced him to move to Miami. There they started a tree trimming business. A year later, Platt’s wife committed suicide. Suspicious?
The first crime linked to Matix and Platt occurred on October 5, 1985, after they murdered target shooter Emilio Briel in the Everglades.
After the death of Briel, the pair stole his gold Chevy Monte Carlo and began their spree of robberies.
Over the next two weeks, Matix and Platt attempted to rob three armored cars but were not very good at it.
In total, they managed to steal one bag containing $2,800. Even looking at the modern value, $7,316, it’s not too impressive.
Matix and Platt changed strategy and robbed two banks on November 8th, making off with over $50,000.
The pair targeted another armored car in January 1986, shooting a guard with a shotgun and a Ruger Mini-14.
They escaped with $54,000, ditching Briel’s Monte Carlo. Miraculously, the guard survived.
In need of a new getaway car, the men returned to the Everglades. There they found another recreational shooter, Jose Collazo.
After shooting Collazo, the two stole his Smith & Wesson Model 14, .22 Marlin, and black Monte Carlo.
Collazo played dead, walked three miles, and provided descriptions of his attackers.
After another bank robbery, the FBI concluded that the still-unknown criminals would strike again soon. So, they began searching for the black Monte Carlo.
Miami Shootout
On April 11th, 1986, 14 FBI agents began a sweep and quickly located the vehicle. Platt and Matix attempted evasion before being forced from the road.
Absolute chaos followed.
Eight agents were on the scene — armed with two Remington 870 shotguns, three S&W Model 459 9mm pistols, two .357 Magnums, and five .38 revolvers.
Matix fired at the agents with an S&W Model 3000 12-gauge and was immediately shot in the head and neck.
But Platt proved more difficult to take down.
Even after sustaining five gunshot wounds, Platt wounded 5 agents with his Mini-14.
He also killed agents Grogan and Dove as he entered their vehicle. Special agent Ed Mireles finally killed Platt with a round of .357 to the chest.
Conclusion
In all, 145 rounds were fired.
The tragic day resulted in serious changes to FBI policy. Revolvers were deemed too difficult to reload in sustained combat.
Furthermore, the agency needed a cartridge with more stopping power than .38 Special and 9mm.
To answer the FBI’s call, S&W developed the .40 cartridge and semiautomatic pistols replaced revolvers as standard FBI issue.
This is a new style of article for Pew Pew Tactical, if you liked it — let us know in the comments! If you didn’t enjoy it…well phooey. To catch up on previous Pictures from History, click on over to our History Category.
21 Leave a Reply
The FBI adopted the 10MM auto after the Miami shootout. The .40 S&W was developed later after complaints about the recoil of the 10.
Sorry but that photo is not a Monte carlo
FBI turned to 10mm before going to .40 S&W
10mm to big and to…. Just never cared for that round the 357 magnum ( I think ) is best all around caliber hands ⬇️ down ! Still very surprised the 9mm has came this far in today’s military/ law enforcement
Best REVOLVER CARTRIDGE for business and all-around use, yes I agree. Have done some good shooting out of my .357's...
Semi-auto I'd have to go with the .40 S&W (no it doesnt stand for "short and weak"!)... I can load some pretty impressive ammo for the forty (havent had to actually buy any for years) and I shoot it out of a lighter weapon than I would a 10mm... NOT in any way to disparage the .45acp!
Good read. Thanks for putting it together.
Great article. Thanks for sharing.
Sorry to see this wasn't your cup of tea. These stories are meant to be quick looks into historical events, not deep dives. But we always encourage our readers to dig deeper if it piques their interest. Thanks for reading!
I enjoyed the Article. I understand that the Article was meant to be an accounting of the "real world " impact of combining ineffective weapons and the violence of a gunfight. The facts provided were more than adequate to make the point.
Thank you.
Great reading .. Thanks
Yawn. Seems like there's plenty of new and fresh things to think about.
We have a plethora of other A Picture in History articles on a range of historical events that might suit your fancies better. :)
Good start. No need for a thesis, plenty have done so. But, a little more would be better.
This series is meant to be a short snippet into one historical event. Thanks for reading!
Enjoyed the history. Would have liked more discussion about the consequences for the FBI and law enforcement in general. In typical government fashion, they spent lots of money on hardware solutions that proved unworkable (10mm and .40) and finally circled back to 9mm. The shootout extended the life of the M1911 for another 20 years. ("If they'd shot 'em with a .45, they woulda stayed shot.") Lessons learned would be (1) train like you fight, fight like you train, (2) have a rifle handy, and (3) as noted by Herbert McBride in 1935, the great advantage of the semi-auto pistol in a gunfight lies in the ease and rapidity with which it can be reloaded. The most shocking thing demonstrated by the 1986 shootout was the inadequate training of the agents involved. Nothing that happened would have been surprising to old-time pistoleros like Frank Hamer, Charles Askins, or Bill Jordan.
Thanks for reading! This series is meant to be a short snippet into one historical event so we don't dive too far.
Good article. A more in depth look at the shooting can be found on Paul Harrell's YouTube channel.
Good article tackling the basics of this. I remember this pretty well. I was in the Army and we all kind of said “well, we shoot .45ACP and 5.56 NATO, nothing to worry about.” …. Little did we know the DOD was going to foist 9mm on us very soon.
Definitely like the article. More would be good.
Good stuff!!
I like it. Please keep these articles going!