HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - Months after an officer-involved shooting left a man paralyzed, the police department has admitted to a major mistake in the case.
Surveillance footage was provided by a 7News viewer that showed a glimpse of what happened that day in July of 2020.
The 18 seconds of video showed a disoriented man struggling with paramedics seemingly before police arrived.
The attorneys of 42-year-old Micheal Ortiz, who was shot and left paralyzed last year by a Hollywood Police officer, have a message.
“Release the video,” said Ortiz’s attorney, Hunter Shkolnik.
His family said he called 911 from an apartment building while in the midst of a mental health breakdown.
Another vantage point showed the stress he was in, and at one point, you can hear what sounds like a gunshot, but it is unclear if it is or not.
Ortiz’s attorneys said that the snippets of video do not tell the full story.
“At some point, he was stunned with a Taser twice, if not more. At one point he was stark naked. At some point, he was handcuffed and at some point he was faced down,” said Shkolnik.
Late Tuesday, seven months after the incident, the police department released a statement, but their review showed that the officer intended to deploy his Taser but instead fired his weapon.
“They are just trying to make an excuse to justify the unjustifiable actions of a police officer who used excessive force,” said Shkolnik.
In fact, attorney Benjamin Crump and his associate said, surveillance video from a hallway camera should be able to tell them everything.
“This is now becoming a manufactured story,” said Crump.
“We still haven’t seen a video that will provide us transparency and the truth,” said Shkolnik.
In December, Minnesota Police officer Kim Potter was convicted of manslaughter in the death of Dante Wright after she claimed she mistakenly shot the 20-year-old after reaching for her Taser.
“The Taser’s on one side, the gun is on the other side. They have already stunned him with a Taser two times. It’s hard to believe you made a mistake,” said Crump.
“There were six grown people, and they can’t put me down? Cuff me, and that’s it?” said Ortiz.
The Hollywood Police Department said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the case.
The officer in question has been taken off the street and has been working in an administrative capacity.
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