Houston cop badly wounded in shooting receives special van from 100 Club

Danny Cortez, brother of officer Ronny Cortez, and ﻿Jazmin Muñoz, wife of officer Jose Muñoz, embrace with chaplain Monty B. Montgomery, left, and HPD Executive Assistant Chief Troy Finner.﻿ Danny Cortez, brother of officer Ronny Cortez, and ﻿Jazmin Muñoz, wife of officer Jose Muñoz, embrace with chaplain Monty B. Montgomery, left, and HPD Executive Assistant Chief Troy Finner.﻿ Photo: Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle, HPD Presser Photo: Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle, HPD Presser Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Houston cop badly wounded in shooting receives special van from 100 Club 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Ronny Cortez wheeled up to the microphone wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with his old station's logo and black sunglasses to protect against the glare of the scorching afternoon sun.

Cortez survived a hail of bullets in late February while confronting a burglar but continues to recuperate in the hospital.

"This guy right here and his family, they're our heroes," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said.

Cortez and his family received a special van Friday from a police support group to help him and his family as he struggles to recuperate from the shooting, which left him paralyzed from the waist down.

The 100 Club handed over the keys Friday. The van - a gold-colored Dodge Pro Master - will help the family during his recovery and beyond, officials said.

Cortez' family — wife Sheri, daughter Tatiana, 20, and son Evan, 18 — stood beside him Friday to accept the gift.

"It's really going to help my family a lot," Cortez, speaking briefly to a slew of reporters. "We've got a lot of fighting ahead of us."

Cortez and his fellow officers were searching for a suspected burglar Feb. 28 on Sterlingame in southwest Houston when the man shot him three times.

One bullet hit his spine — and is still lodged there.

The gunman, Earl Donnell Riley, a member of the 52-Hoover Crips gang, was shot to death in the confrontation.

Cortez, a 49-year old officer who has spent more than 20 years with the department, has been in the hospital ever since. A fellow officer, Jose Munoz, was also injured, but not as gravely: he was shot in the foot.

The 100 Club — a local group that supports law enforcement in Harris and 31 other Texas counties — donated the van and formally presented it to the family at a brief news conference at the Houston Police Officers Union hall.

"We appreciate the 100 Club for everything they do for our officers," said Joe Gamaldi, HPOU vice president. "It is incredible the way they step up whenever there's a hero in need."

100 Club Executive Director Rick Hartley said the foundation got involved after hearing about the shooting and learning about the extent of Cortez' injuries.

"We knew there would be a need for transportation," he said. "It's important for us ... to make sure to help those who put their lives on the line for us. Officers Cortez and Munoz did that on the afternoon they were shot. This is a small way we can say thank you to them ... Thanks for making our lives a little safer."

Sheri Cortez said her husband is undergoing several hours of physical therapy every day, working to be more independent and able to use his wheelchair on his own.

"We didn't know what to expect," she said.

It quickly became clear they'd need help moving her husband around.

"We quickly discovered because he's such a small fellow he wouldn't fit in a regular van," she joked, patting her husband's broad shoulders, as the crowd laughed. "He has a long, long road ahead ... It's really going to help."

Like Cortez and his wife, Acevedo acknowledged the struggle his officer faces going forward.

He turned to Cortez, surrounded by his family.

"Every time I see you you're looking better... We're in this for the long haul," he said. "The Cortez family knows we are a family and we're going to fight together."