Former FBI agent killed in EPISD police shooting

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The family of retired FBI agent Julio Cordero is struggling to come to terms with the circumstances of his death following an encounter with an El Paso Independent School District police officer at Franklin High School early Thursday morning, August 22.

Cordero, 56, was killed at the school around 5:45 a.m. after an EPISD PD officer allegedly caught him vandalizing the school where his eldest son was a senior.

Even several days after his death, she said she had still not been officially informed by the investigating authorities about his death and had not received any information about when she could start planning his funeral.

Cordero was born into a family of eight children to working-class parents who instilled in their children the importance of a good education. After all eight graduated from Bel Air High School, three Cordero boys – Pete, Marco and Julio – joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the mid-1990s.

During his successful career as an FBI agent, Cordero won numerous awards, including the Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award for leading the Operation Poisoned Pawns investigation. The investigation resulted in more than 40 convictions of prominent El Paso residents in a web of massive public corruption. The convictions included former District Judge Anthony Cobos, local attorney Luther Jones, and other notable business leaders and elected officials in El Paso.

While Cordero's career was progressing, his personal life began to spiral out of control. In 2014, a suicidal man jumped in front of Cordero's car and died. Marco says Julio started having nightmares.

Then memories of a car accident in 1993 that killed Julio's sister came flooding back. Although Julio only got away with a concussion, the accident that killed his sister and her boyfriend haunted him. He felt guilt over their deaths, and it affected his relationships.

“He was a very respected law enforcement officer in the city. He made a big difference. If you don't know about Poisoned Pawns, you should check it out. That was his baby,” Marco said. “He had an outstanding career. A career that many of us would like to have, but no job should be more important than family.”

After leaving the FBI in 2018, Julio's mental state continued to deteriorate. Despite his family's attempts to help him, Julio often went days without sleeping and suffered from paranoia and PTSD symptoms. He began taking medication and began to improve, only to then be stopped taking the medication and the vicious cycle began again.

“Beautiful people get sick. He was very well cared for and we as an extended family did everything we could to protect him. There was nothing more we could have done except live his life,” says Marco Cordero.

While Marco says Julio was not a violent person and never owned a gun after leaving the FBI, he had a few altercations over the past two years due to his deteriorating mental state. He had started breaking windows. When he had broken them and woken up from his mental state, he would often go back to the stores, apologize and offer to pay for the damage.

As a family of law enforcement, the Corderos now see the world from a different perspective.

“When he got scared, he froze. It was like you were talking to him, but he couldn't hear you. He can't process information, so it's very possible they're giving him orders and he's not doing what he's supposed to do. Part of it is fear, part of it is post-traumatic stress disorder setting in,” Marco Cordero said. “I don't know, right? Suddenly I'm on the other side of the fence and I'm not so quick to say, 'Do what the cops tell you.'”

The family questions why less lethal force was not used and hopes EPISD police will release the body camera and surveillance footage to family friends in law enforcement so they can personally review the incident that led to his death and determine if the use of force was justified.

In the meantime, they focus on the amazing and kind man that Julio was, his incredible career as a law enforcement officer, and his greatest legacy – his four children.

If you or someone you know is going through a mental health crisis, call or text 988 to reach a trained counselor 24/7.