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Orlando officer who accidentally shot bystander at bar had decent track record; bar releases statement

ORLANDO, Fla. — An investigation into a fatal downtown shooting involving an Orlando police officer continued Thursday.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is looking into how a bullet meant for suspect Kody Roach struck and killed an innocent woman.

Channel 9's Shannon Butler went through Officer Ed Sanguino's personnel file to see if he had been under investigation before.

In a letter to former police chief Val Demings, Sanguino said that the greatest challenge of a police officer is realizing that you don't know everything and that he would strive to keep his fellows officer safe on the job.

On Monday, Sanguino shot three people during an incident outside the Vixen bar, killing 22-year-old Maria Godinez, who was inside the business.

His actions that day are coming under internal and public fire for the first time in his Orlando Police Department career.

Sangunio has only been on the force a little more than two years but in his time in Orlando, he has been well respected, Butler learned.

According to OPD files, Sangunio started in the Explorer Program in 2003 when he was 13.  That same year, he won Explorer of the Year.

Sanguino is from Ecuador and became a U.S. citizen in 2011. In this application letter, he told the police chief after taking that oath, "I realized that dreams come true with hard work and commitment."

He told the chief he was looking for an opportunity to make a difference and was assigned to the downtown bike unit that patrols Orange Avenue overnight.

He was one of two officers to first respond at the shooting scene Monday night, where he shot Roach outside the Vixen Night Club. Six bullets hit roach, but three missed. One of them went through the door and struck Godinez.

Sanguino's personnel file shows it was the first time he had to fire his weapon, and in training he had nothing but good reviews.

Superiors wrote that he handles emergency situations quickly and often makes the proper use of force decisions. Superiors said Sanguino uses the correct verbal commands and always makes good decisions under stress.

OPD officers have to qualify at the range twice a year and get 100 extra round of ammunition to practice on their own.

Vixen workers released a statement Thursday night, saying, " Here at Vixen in the name of all of our loyal patrons, friends and community, it is with the deepest of sympathy, that we reach out to Maria Castillo family - as they mourn her loss. To have an innocent life lost downtown, threatens the very core of our downtown community's collective security. We are confident in the City of Orlando, OPD and the FDLE to investigate the issues accordingly and we will comment further as more information becomes available. Even the strongest of communities have moments of weakness and it is within this moment that we ask our staff, patrons and community to recognize the frailty of life and the value of love, in remembrance of Maria."