Man Shot By Police Officer May Be Paralyzed From Neck Down

The family of a man shot in the neck by an off-duty El Paso police officer said their loved one is fighting for his life at a local hospital. And if he survives, he will likely spend the rest of his life paralyzed from the neck down, they added.

Andres Elias Cortes, 20, is currently hospitalized at University Medical Center. Thursday afternoon, Cortes allegedly crashed a yellow Pontiac Sunfire he was driving into the back of a mid-size SUV. Inside the SUV were two off-duty police officers: Michelle Gonzalez, a seven year veteran of the police force; and Jorge Gonzalez, a five year veteran of the police force. The officers are not related.

The crash happened near a McDonald’s at the intersection of Yarbrough and Gateway West. According to Police officials, when the off-duty officers got off their vehicle, Cortes tried to get away. He allegedly struck Michelle Gonzalez with the car, police officials said.

At that moment, Jorge Gonzalez took out his gun and pointed it at Cortez through the passenger side window of the Pontiac Sunfire. Police officials said that’s when Jorge Gonzalez fired his gun and struck Cortes in the head.

“If somebody is pointing a gun or you’re staring down the barrel of a gun, I would have done the same thing,” said a relative of Cortez. “They could have acted differently.”

John Mendoza witnessed the incident, which he originally thought was a drug cartel hit. He said Cortes may have also thought the same thing and reacted by trying to drive off to safety. “It seemed like he hit her,” said Mendoza, “But he had no weapons. He had nothing inside the car. He was by himself, you know, he got scared.”

ABC-7 has obtained cell phone video taken by a witness at the scene. It shows a man talking on his cell phone near the Pontiac Sunfire and woman in a pink shirt frantically pacing back and forth. Meantime, no one seems to be rendering any emergency aid to Cortes, who was still inside the car.

Police have still not confirmed if the people seen in the video were the officers involved in the shooting. A spokesman with the police department also said the officer did not fire his weapon in an effort to kill Cortes. “The object is not to shoot somebody and let them die,” Police Spokesman Michael Baranyay said, “That is not something the El Paso Police department or any police officer, I believe would want to do.”

“They’re claiming that it was a fender bender, but that does not justify for the officer to be aiming toward his head,” said another relative of Cortez, who questioned the officer’s motive.

The shooting is still under investigation and Jorge Gonzalez has been placed on paid administrative duty. Officer Michelle Gonzalez will return to the police force once she recovers from her injuries, which were not considered serious, according to police officials.

In the meantime, Cortez is facing charges of Aggravated Assault once he is released from the hospital; something relatives said is still up in the air. “He’s not doing good at all. He’s very critical and he’s in a life and death situation at this time,” said a relative. “And even if he makes it, he’s going to be paralyzed from the neck down.”