Dallas Police are investigating a shooting where a police officer shot and critically injured a wanted man after he fired on them as they tried to take him into custody.
Dallas Chief of Police Eddie Garcia said during a news conference Wednesday that the manager of an apartment community on the 1900 block of Bennett Avenue notified police just before 7 p.m. Sunday that a man who was believed to be involved in a stolen vehicle case from earlier in the month where the driver rammed a police car was on the property.
Officers arrived about 40 minutes later and walked through the building and into a back parking lot where they found the man, identified as 35-year-old Hernan Gutierrez.
Garcia showed a body camera video on Wednesday showing Dallas Police officers Matthew McLain and Kimberley Esquivel approaching Gutierrez in the parking lot, demanding that he put his hands up. Gutierrez can be seen in the video backing up as Esquivel attempts to move in and take him into custody.
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Garcia said Gutierrez was uncooperative and that McLain used a stun gun to attempt to subdue Gutierrez, but that it was ineffective. McLain can then be heard on the recording saying Gutierrez had a gun and seconds later a gunshot was heard.
Garcia said the initial shot heard in the recording came from Gutierrez's weapon and that after he fired, Esquivel pulled out her weapon and fired one time, hitting Gutierrez in the torso.
"The decision officer Esquivel made in the face of evil saved lives on Sunday. She saved the lives of her partner, her own and protected those we swore to serve who were simply going about their day at home," Garcia said.
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After the shooting, police handcuffed Gutierrez and called Dallas Fire-Rescue to transport him to an area hospital. As of Wednesday afternoon, Gutierrez was listed in critical but stable condition.
In the video released by the department, which is embedded below, the officers can be heard using profane language while ordering Gutierrez to surrender. The video also shows the moments leading up to the shooting, where the officers struggle to take the man into custody.
The round fired from Gutierrez's weapon, Garcia said, ended up hitting an occupied apartment. No one inside the residence was injured. Garcia also said no officers were injured in the incident.
Garcia said police recovered Gutierrez's weapon, which was loaded with 15 rounds. In his backpack, Garcia said, officers found large amounts of powder cocaine, black tar heroin, methamphetamine, pills and a large amount of cash. Gutierrez was also in possession of a key to a stolen vehicle, police said.
According to Dallas Police, the department has since confirmed Gutierrez was on federal probation on two charges, felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance, and that he'd removed his ankle monitor in August 2022. He was wanted on an active warrant for a weapons charge, Garcia said, adding that Gutierrez had a lengthy criminal history of DWI, drug charges and two kidnapping convictions.
Garcia said Gutierrez has been charged with aggravated assault on a public servant and that additional charges are possible.
The Dallas Police Department's investigation into the shooting is ongoing. An independent concurrent investigation by the Dallas County District Attorney's Office is also ongoing.
