Family of man fatally shot by San Diego police in Golden Hill files wrongful death lawsuit

The parents of a man who was fatally shot by San Diego police officers filed a wrongful death lawsuit this week against the city and the officers involved, alleging in the civil complaint that the man was shot while he was surrendering.

The April 14 shooting of 37-year-old Enrique Cortez Jr. followed a police chase that began in San Ysidro and ended with Cortez shot while behind the wheel of a pickup truck that crashed into a Golden Hill home.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in San Diego federal court claims Cortez had his arms extended out of the driver’s side window of the disabled truck just before he was shot “while he was obviously attempting to surrender and posed no threat to officers.”

A San Diego police spokesperson said Thursday the agency was unable to comment on the pending litigation. “However, there is a thorough review process for officer-involved shootings, and that investigation is ongoing,” he said.

In video footage released about a month after the shooting, the police department said officers first encountered Cortez after responding to a 911 caller who stated a man was firing a gun and pointing the weapon at people.

Responding officers spotted Cortez and ordered him to drop his gun, but Cortez got into a parked white Ford F-150 and drove off. During the ensuing chase, Cortez fired four ...