Maria Santos is suing the city of Scottsdale, arguing that police gunned down her unarmed husband in a hotel parking lot and turned a chaotic call into a fatal shooting. The wrongful-death lawsuit centers on the killing of 42-year-old Joseph Santos, who was shot in his SUV on March 7, 2025. Body-camera and surveillance footage later released by the department show Santos unarmed as officers fire multiple rounds into the vehicle.
Santos’ widow filed the complaint in Maricopa County Superior Court in early March. Her attorney, Dominic Gomez, had already submitted a notice of claim seeking more than $15 million to resolve the family’s allegations without a trial, according to Phoenix New Times. The lawsuit contends officers used excessive and unnecessary force because Santos did not have a weapon and, the filing argues, did not pose an objective threat when they opened fire. Scottsdale officials declined to comment to the outlet, citing the pending litigation.
What the footage shows
Security-camera clips and the department’s body-worn video trace the confrontation back to a gas station, where a witness reported that Santos flashed a handgun before driving back to the Hotel Bixby parking lot. Officers boxed in his SUV there. Video shows Santos at times raising his hands and, later, yelling “Shoot me!” as he takes off his shirt. At that point, officers move toward the front of his vehicle and a police dog is deployed, according to coverage of the department’s Critical Incident Briefing from Arizona's Family.
Body-cam footage and the incident report identify Sgt. Zack Fielding as the officer who fired, unleashing at least a dozen rounds through the front windshield. At nearly the same moment, Officer Derek Vusovich pushes K-9 Rocco through the passenger-side window. Police did not find a weapon on Santos or inside the SUV. Investigators later recovered a discarded Glock at a nearby playground, but it was never tied to him. Those details, including the number of shots, the dog deployment and the absence of a gun, appear in the lawsuit and the department briefing, according to Phoenix New Times.
County review and criminal decision
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office reviewed the East Valley Critical Incident Response Team investigation and ultimately listed the case as “Cleared.” The office’s public First Responder Critical Incident Callouts show a final decision date of Sept. 16, 2025, for the Santos shooting and record both the submission and decision dates for the file. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office maintains that public log.
Legal stakes
The complaint argues that because Santos was unarmed, Scottsdale officers lacked an objectively reasonable basis to use deadly force and are therefore liable under both state and federal law. Courts evaluate excessive-force claims under the U.S. Supreme Court’s objective-reasonableness test from Graham v. Connor, which looks at the totality of the circumstances from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene. That framework is outlined by the Legal Information Institute.
Civil discovery will determine what evidence, including body-worn video and the East Valley team’s investigative files, becomes part of the court record and whether the city opts for a settlement or prepares for trial. Mesa Police led the criminal investigation as part of the East Valley Critical Incident Response Team, and local coverage noted that Mayor Borowsky commented briefly on the case. FOX 10 Phoenix reported on the mayor’s statement and on which agency handled the review.
