The Phoenix Police Department has released footage from an officer-involved shooting that took place on August 19, on the corner of 20th Avenue and Northern Avenue. The video, which the police have warned contains graphic content that may be upsetting to some viewers, details the chain of events that led to the fatal shooting of a man outside a local restaurant.
The situation began to aggressively unfold when police were called about a man trespassing at the establishment after refusing to leave, and further escalating the tension by threatening a customer. Descriptions from the 911 call, shared by the Phoenix Police Department, pointed out the individual as a white male in his 50s, who was wearing a white shirt with blue jeans.
Upon arrival, officers encountered the man, who was armed outside the restaurant with a hatchet and a chisel. The released briefing includes the officers' repeated attempts to deescalate the situation with verbal commands that the man ignored. After a 40mm less-lethal launcher was used with negligible effect as the man continued his pace towards the officers, an officer-involved shooting subsequently took place.
The Phoenix Fire Department quickly responded, rendering aid and transporting the man to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The Phoenix Police Department assures that no other injuries were reported during the incident. The officer involved in the shooting, a seven-year veteran of the Desert Horizon Precinct, is now subject to both a criminal and administrative investigation. An assertion that all necessary conclusions will not be made until the criminal investigation, conducted by the Major Incident Division of the Department of Public Safety and reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, is complete, was shared by the Phoenix Police Department.
