Hollywood Police Say Officer Accidentally Shot Man In Back Leaving Him Paralyzed
Cop Used Gun Instead Of Taser. Leaves Man Paralyzed.
Hollywood Police Say Officer Accidentally Shot Man In Back Leaving Him Paralyzed
Hollywood, FL – Boca Post (BocaPost.com) — Hollywood Police Department released a statement late on Tuesday night highlighting what what actions their officers took which ultimately left a man paralyzed.
Michael Ortiz, then 42 year old, was reportedly being combative with paramedics when Hollywood Police arrived on scene to his residence at 5200 Hollywood Boulevard. Ortiz had called 911 as he was suffering chest pains following ingestion of narcotics and was allegedly making delusional and suicidal statements. When Fire Rescue responded, Ortiz refused to answer the door so they requested Hollywood Police to respond. While Fire Rescue waited for Police, Ortiz exited the the apartment and the naked man then became combative with paramedics.
Responding police officers then tasered Ortiz and put him in to handcuffs. Ortiz again became combative in a small elevator. An officer then shot Ortiz in the back with his firearm. It was determined later in the investigation that the officer meant to deploy his taser but instead used his firearm on Ortiz. The gunshot injury to Ortiz’s back left him paralyzed. The officer has since been removed from his duty as a sworn police officer and is currently assigned to administrative tasks pending the outcome of the investigation which is being led by FDLE at the request of Hollywood PD.
Morgan And Morgan was representing Ortiz but has since said they are no longer representing him in this matter. The firm said they filed a public records request via regular mail, bypassing the department’s online PRR system, which was never processed. The department said that they never received the request. The Ortiz family has since moved on and is reportedly being represented by famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
Hollywood Police Department says that they are doing everything they can to be sure that this “unfortunate incident” does not happen again. The department added that once the investigation is complete they will meet with the family and provide any other details they are seeking.
