A man is dead after Pima County Sheriff's deputies opened fire on him during a domestic dispute call in southwest Tucson on Friday afternoon. According to the Pima County Sheriff's Department, the man was armed with two sharp objects, refused to cooperate with responding deputies, and kept walking toward them as they tried to talk him down before deputies shot him.
Deputies assigned to the sheriff's San Xavier District were dispatched to the 6700 block of West Kay Lynn Drive, near South Camino Verde and West Bopp Road, at approximately 3:45 p.m. Friday after reports of a domestic dispute, according to the Arizona Daily Star. As KGUN 9 reported, police attempted to de-escalate the situation multiple times while the man continued advancing on them, until deputies opened fire. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and no deputies or civilians were reported injured.
The sheriff's department says the investigation into the shooting remains ongoing. The exact nature of the two sharp objects the man was reportedly holding, the identities of the deputies who fired, and the deceased man's identity have not been released.
Outside Agency Now Reviewing the Shooting
Following the shooting, authorities activated the Pima Regional Critical Incident Team, an independent multi-agency unit made up of 10 Southern Arizona law enforcement agencies that conducts criminal reviews of officer-involved shootings, per the Arizona Daily Star's report. The team conducts cross-agency criminal investigations.
For officer-involved shootings, the involved agency handles its administrative review while another agency conducts the criminal investigation.
A Familiar Team Handling a Sensitive Case
Hoodline reported that the same regional team was activated for the April 10 Melendez shooting, which was tied to a fraudulent swatting call and left a 23-year-old man paralyzed; the team was continuing its work when Hoodline published on July 28. The case also prompted a $320 million legal claim against Pima County, as detailed in Hoodline's report.
Domestic-dispute calls are one type of call that Southern Arizona officers handle. Law enforcement agencies in Pima County, including the Tucson Police Department and the sheriff's department, respond to roughly 15,000 domestic violence calls every year, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
The circumstances that led to Friday's fatal encounter, including how the domestic dispute began and what prompted the man's noncompliance, have not been detailed by authorities. The Pima Regional Critical Incident Team's findings, along with any body-worn camera footage from the incident, have not yet been released.
