Community mourns police officer's death at funeral

HARLINGEN — The camaraderie of veteran city police officers was evident at the Feb. 19 funeral of longtime Harlingen police officer Eleazar Cortez.
Richard Ricker, who was on the force from 1974 to 1977, said 525 people attended Cortez’s funeral.
“People at San Benito Funeral Home said it was the biggest funeral they ever had,” Ricker said. “There were so many cars, some had to be parked on the grass.”
Cortez began his police career in 1973 as a Harlingen police officer and then moved to Clute, in 1981, where he eventually became chief of police, the first Hispanic to hold that job, his obituary states. Later he returned to the Rio Grande Valley, first serving with the Willacy County Adult Probation Department, then returning to the Harlingen Police Department in 1985, where he was again an officer until 2006, completing 32 years of service with the department, the obituary states.
In retirement, he was a captain for Wackenhut Transportation Co. contracted by the Border Patrol.
Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio, who served on the Harlingen Police Department 35 years, said he worked with Cortez and his two brothers, Omar and Juan Carlos, who also were HPD officers.
“They were a highly respected San Benito family,” the sheriff said.
Omar was killed in an auto accident and Juan Carlos, or J.C., is still a Harlingen officer, the sheriff said.
“I considered all three of them to be fine, outstanding officers,” Lucio said.
“Their sister Norma had a high position in the Border Patrol and she retired a couple years ago,” the sheriff said.
“They were an outstanding law enforcement family,” Lucio said. “Their dad, Placido Cortez, was on the San Benito Police Department for many, many years and was chief the last 10 or 15 years.”
Retired HPD detective John Doster recalled that Cortez and two brothers served with HPD. He worked with Eleazar Cortez on the detective squad for a time, Doster said.
“He was a real good guy,” Doster said. “He was in the Jaycees and some other groups,” said Doster, who retired from HPD in 1992 after 34 years.
Recently retired HPD Sgt. Richard Turner said he, Eleazar Cortez, whose nickname was “Patch,” and J.C. Cortez went through the police academy together.
When they were rookie cops, Eleazar Cortez always took the time to get to know everyone, especially people on the west side of Harlingen, Turner said.
He recalls one time Eleazar was chasing a suspect on foot and the man ran into the side of a police cruiser, Turner said.
Cortez was following close behind and slammed into the suspect, Turner said.
“Eleazar was a big guy,” Turner said. “All you could hear was, oof!”
Ricker, of the San Antonio area, was also a former Chicago police officer when Eleazar Cortez persuaded him to move to Harlingen, and that Cortez became his eldest son’s godfather.
“He took me to the beach,” Ricker said. “That was the first time I ever ate fajitas.”
HPD went all out to honor Cortez with an honor guard at the funeral home and cemetery, and with longtime officers serving as pallbearers, Ricker said.
The number of former and present HPD officers, as well as sheriff’s department officers, constables, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol and representatives of other police agencies was overwhelming, Ricker said.