Body cam video shows scuffle over stun gun before deadly Phoenix police shooting
By: The Phoenix Police Department released new body-camera videos on Friday of a fight over a stun gun between a man and an officer, which happened right before a deadly police shooting earlier this month. A man called 911 on the afternoon of July 1, saying someone was trying to burglarize a storage unit. “He’s trying to break into a door that’s locked,” said the caller. Police said the caller originally gave the wrong address in west Phoenix, but officers eventually figured out it was in the area of 32nd Street and Washington Street.
When officers got there, they say they found 35-year-old Raul Mendez and Sonya Gonzalez, and they matched the descriptions of the burglars and were detained. An officer ran a records check on Mendez and couldn’t confirm his identity. So two officers went to put him in handcuffs, and he resisted, police said. The body-cam video shows one officer was pushed to the ground as another officer tried to arrest Mendez. “You’re under arrest right now, stop,” said an officer. “Flip over. Flip over. This would be a whole lost easier if you would just (expletive) listen.”
The body camera is blocked by the suspect and the officer, but police say Mendez grabbed the officer’s stun gun. “Let go of the Taser!” the officer said. He then threatened to shoot the suspect if he didn’t let go. A few seconds later, three gunshots are heard and Mendez shouts in pain. Mendez was taken to the hospital, where he later died. Two officers were also hospitalized, one with minor injuries and the other with serious injuries to his head and leg. He should be OK.