Rochester Police Officer Manny Ortiz died on his way to work Saturday evening when his personal handgun accidentally discharged, hitting him in the thigh.
The bullet severed the officer’s femoral artery, causing him to lose control of his SUV and drift off Empire Boulevard in Penfield and into a ravine. A nurse who witnessed the crash climbed down into the ravine and guided first responders to the scene. They tried to save Officer Ortiz using tourniquets but were unable to do so. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sheriff Todd Baxter says Ortiz called his finance to tell her he had accidentally shot himself before the crash. She then called 911. An autopsy showed the cause of death to be the gunshot, not the crash.
Sheriff Baxter says we may never know what caused the gun to go off. It was found in its holster during the investigation. Police believe the holster was in Officer Ortiz’s waistband at the time.
Ortiz was a 22-year-police force veteran. RPD Chief LaRon Singletary said “we lost a great one” and that Ortiz was loved by many in the community as well as the department.