A Florida officer shot a man after mistaking his gun for a Taser, police say. The man was left paralyzed.

• Florida police say that an officer who shot a man in the back mistook his gun for a Taser.
• Michael Ortiz was left paralyzed by the encounter, which started when he called 911 in distress. 
• Police say he was “combative,” but Ortiz’ lawyer, Ben Crump, says he “posed no threat.”

A Florida man paralyzed during a police callout was shot in the back after an officer mistook his gun for a Taser, multiple reports cite police as saying. 

Michael Ortiz now uses a wheelchair and “needs round-the-clock care,” his lawyers, Hunter Shkolnik and famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump, told a Monday news conference. 

Crump called on the police department in Hollywood, Florida — a city around 17 miles north of Miami — to release footage of the callout.

On July 3, 2021, Ortiz, a resident of Hollywood, called 911 in distress, NBC News reported. 

Ortiz reported chest pains, made suicidal comments, and said that he had taken drugs, NBC reported police as saying in a statement released Wednesday.

As officers arrived, Ortiz went onto his sixth-floor balcony “naked, combative with the paramedics and visibly agitated,” and threatening to jump, police said, per NBC.

Crump told Monday’s news conference that Ortiz was naked as he had just taken a shower. 

The police statement said there was a struggle, in which an officer tased Ortiz and restrained him, NBC reported. As they tried to move him to the elevator, police said Ortiz resisted, at which point an officer opened fire, shooting Ortiz in the back. 

“An initial review suggests the officer intended to deploy his Taser, but instead discharged his firearm,” the police statement said, per NBC. 

In a statement seen by NBC, Crump and Shkolnik said that Ortiz “was handcuffed, naked, on the ground, and posed no threat to the officer when he was shot in the back.”

The bullet pierced Ortiz’ spine and pancreas, according to Local10 News.  

“Why? Why did you have the need to shoot me?” asked Ortiz, addressing the officer during Monday’s news conference. The officer, who has not been named, has been placed on leave pending an investigation, NBC reported.

Crump added that Ortiz had been left with $1.4 million of medical bills, Local10 News reported.

“He was having a crisis,” Crump said. “He needed a helping hand. He didn’t need a bullet in his spine,” Crump said.

Hollywood Police Department did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.