Bodycam shows 26-year-old shot and killed by Phoenix police. Mom questions use of force
By: Body-worn camera video shows the moments 26-year-old Robert Crockett was shot and killed by Phoenix police earlier this month.
It happened on Sept. 9 after Crockett allegedly carjacked a rideshare worker at gunpoint near 85th Avenue and Indian School in Phoenix, police claimed.
Through GPS, officers tracked the car to a home he was living at near 91st and Glendale avenues in Glendale.
When police arrived, they were able to escort a woman out of the home, then made contact to get Crockett out as well.
“The suspect ended up coming out of the house. He contacted the officers from a distance away. While he was in the driveway of the residence. It was at this time he removed a handgun from his possession, and pointed it at multiple officers and that’s when the officer-involved shooting occurred,” said Sgt. Brian Bower with the Phoenix Police Department.
Bower said Robert died at the scene. He said the smell of propane delayed first responders from rendering aid after the shooting.
Ultimately, the gun Crockett had was a pellet gun resembling a semi-automatic handgun, police said.
"He died over a BB gun,” said Crockett's mother, Katy.
Hours after the video was released, Katy Crockett spoke exclusively with 12News about the body camera footage. She said she had not seen the video after her other children told her not to because of what it showed.
Katy Crockett still had several questions about this situation. Wondering why police didn't use some other method to stop her son instead of using firearms.
"Was he innocent? Probably not, but did he have to die for it? No, absolutely not,” she said.
Robert Crockett struggled with mental health and drug abuse, his mother said. While he made bad choices, she said he wasn't a bad guy.
"He was challenged, and he was challenging, but I mean, he would give you the shirt off his back,” she said.
Right now, she said she is focused on preparing services for her son's funeral, which will be held on Monday. Katy Crockett said, after that, she is considering legal action against the department.