El Paso Cop In Thursday Chase, Officer-Involved Shooting Also Involved In Shooting Last Year

The El Paso Police officer who opened fire during a short chase Thursday morning is the same officer who shot a man near an East Side McDonald’s last year, according to police officials.

The officer was identified as Jorge Gonzalez, a six-year veteran of the force.

It was last April when Gonzalez, who was off-duty at the time, shot a man who allegedly ignored commands to stop his car and nearly hit a second off-duty officer with the car after the two vehicles were involved in a fender bender. The 20-year-old driver was left paralyzed from the shooting. Watch amateur video of just after the 2010 shooting

At the time, the ABC-7 I-Team found that Gonzalez had 18 commendations, but he’d been suspended from the police department three times in his career. He’d also been ordered to take anger management classes.

Police say Gonzalez opened fire near campus at UTEP Thursday, after a man driving an SUV backed into the officer and his patrol unit. This allegedly happened after a short chase that started on Porfirio Diaz. The driver then took off and got into a rollover a short distance away.

A preliminary investigation by police said Gonzalez was justified to fire his weapon in the shooting near the East Side McDonald’s.

He’s on administrative leave pending the outcome of Thursday’s shots fired incident.