Mayor Kate Gallego | City of Phoenix Official website
Mayor Kate Gallego | City of Phoenix Official website
WARNING: The attached video may contain strong language as well as graphic images which may be disturbing to some people. Viewer discretion is advised.
The Phoenix Police Department has released a Critical Incident Briefing (CIB) video that includes audio, visuals and information related to an officer-involved shooting (OIS) which occurred on May 11th, 2023.
This incident occurred in the area of 91st Avenue & Lower Buckeye Road when Phoenix Police officers were driving in the area and found a pickup truck stopped in the roadway. The only person in the truck was a man asleep behind the wheel. A check of the license plate revealed the vehicle was reported stolen.
Officers positioned their patrol vehicles to the front and the back of the pickup in order to prevent the man from driving away and potentially causing harm to the community.
The man then woke up and attempted to drive off, but the pickup was blocked in. The man continued to accelerate for about 3 minutes causing the wheels to spin and create a large cloud of smoke.
While the driver continued to accelerate, an officer repositioned himself behind his patrol car and noticed the suspect had a gun. He alerted the other officers and they moved away from the vehicles.
Once the officers moved, the suspect got out of the vehicle and ran down Lower Buckeye Road.
The officers got into their patrol cars and followed the man towards a neighborhood.
Officers caught up to the suspect and fired less-lethal PepperBall projectiles at him that were ineffective.
The suspect made his way into the neighborhood and officers began to set up a perimeter around the area where the man was last seen.
A two-man unit responded to help search the neighborhood and located the suspect near the edge of the neighborhood. The officers gave the suspect commands to get on the ground. The suspect turned and pointed the gun towards the officers. Both officers fired their guns toward the suspect.
After the shooting, the suspect ran off and hid inside the neighborhood.
Officers from the Tactical Support Bureau responded to search for the suspect. He was later located in the backyard of a residence and taken into custody after the use of a less-lethal tool.
The suspect was not struck by gunfire and was medically cleared by the fire department. He was later booked on multiple felony charges.
No other community members or officers were injured during this incident.
The gun used by the man was found near the area where he was taken into custody. Detectives discovered the firearm used by the suspect was a pellet gun.
The officers involved in this shooting have been with the department for 4 and a half and 3 years. They are assigned to the Maryvale/Estrella Mountain Precinct.
Conclusions about whether the actions of the officers are consistent with department policy and the law will not be made until all facts are known and the investigation is complete. An internal investigation by the Professional Standard Bureau is currently underway, in addition to a criminal investigation. Once the criminal investigation is complete it will then be reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
Public records law required redaction of certain personal identifying information before video is released publicly. That is why you may see some parts of Body Worn Camera (BWC) blurred or covered with a black box. Redacted video is released to local media in conjunction with the release of this Critical Incident Briefing for independent review and publication. Complete, unedited versions of the BWC are released to attorneys and the courts as evidence in a criminal case.
Original source can be found here.
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