A tragic case of mistaken identity by Glendale police has left an unarmed 46-year-old Tucson man dead. According to FOX 10 Phoenix, initial reports from the Peoria Police Department state that the shooting occurred near 47th Avenue and Butler after officers responded to a domestic disturbance call involving a threat by a man with a gun.
The escalation that led to the fatal shooting began when officers, acting on details from the domestic call, spotted a vehicle matching the description provided by the caller. The officers then noticed a man seated in a gazebo near the vehicle who they believed was the suspect. Despite compliance at first, FOX 10 Phoenix reported that, "At one point, officers say the individual dropped their hands and reached for something and that’s when one officer fired a shot at that individual." The Tucson man was pronounced dead at the scene, while the actual 23-year-old suspect from the domestic incident was later found inside the vehicle with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and subsequently died in the hospital.
As the investigation unfolds, it has been revealed that there was no connection between the two men. A Peoria Police statement clarified that the man at the park was not the ex-boyfriend involved in the domestic incident, as initially suspected. Notably, officials confirmed to FOX 10 Phoenix that the officers involved were wearing body cameras that were activated during the incident.
Further reports from AZ Family paint a more detailed picture of the moments leading to the shooting. Officers had approached the tinted-window truck without success in establishing communication. Upon turning their focus to the man at the gazebo, they commanded him to raise his hands. The request was not met and the man "made a movement" towards his waistband, prompting one officer to fire their weapon and fatally strike the man.
This incident remains under investigation, and the revelation that the man shot was not armed at the time of his death is likely to add fuel to the ongoing discussions about police tactics and accountability. The Peoria Police Department is conducting the investigation, and the findings will likely be scrutinized by the public and law enforcement officials alike.
