A welfare check in Phoenix spiraled into a deadly confrontation on January 11, leaving 43-year-old John Michael Lewis Jr. dead after a shootout with police, body camera footage from the Phoenix Police Department revealed. According to Phoenix New Times, the encounter began when a neighbor called 911 reporting that they had not seen Lewis for a week and noticed water flowing from his home.
Officers were dispatched to Lewis' residence near 33rd and Taylor streets where they found water pouring from a pipe, upon confronting Lewis through a back door he stated "I'm irrigating," which was contested by the officers who perceived it as more than simple irrigation as the house seemed to be leaking from underneath, the police body camera footage succinctly illustrates the communication just moments before the situation escalated.
The situation took a turn when, as shown in the released video, Lewis is seen pulling out a handgun and aiming it at the officers, which led them to immediately retreat, the chaos captured in the recording reflects gunshots following the confrontation, and while Phoenix Police spokesperson Sgt. Rob Scherer stated the second officer fired his weapon, the video does not clearly show when this occurred as reported by Chartier Medias.
Even as tactical officers arrived around 15 minutes later no further shots were fired, as reported by Sgt. Scherer, the outcome was grim, law enforcement later discovered Lewis deceased inside the home, with at least one gunshot wound though it remains unclear whether the wound was self-inflicted or the result of police gunfire since officials have not provided specifics on who delivered the fatal shot and where the injury was located. The Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner has not responded to a records request about the incident thus far.
This recent incident increases the number of fatal shootings involving Phoenix police officers to three in 2024, following 12 such incidents in the preceding year. An ongoing criminal investigation by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and an internal review by the Phoenix Police Department are both underway to assess the actions of the officers against department policy. The rising tension comes against the backdrop of a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into 30 months of conduct patterns within the Phoenix police force concerning the use of force, discriminatory policing, and treatment of unsheltered and disabled populations.
