Body cam video shows intense exchange before deadly police shooting in Surprise
By: New body-camera video was released on Friday, showing a deadly officer-involved shooting in Surprise. A police officer shot and killed a man after an intense exchange where the man told officers he had a gun.
Surprise police responded to a call on March 28 of a man who would not leave a plaza parking lot near 137th Avenue and Bell Road. People who called the police said the man had several beer cans around the parked car and wouldn’t leave. The video shows the first few exchanges between an officer and the man in the car. The man quickly becomes aggressive. “Do you have any weapons in here?” an officer asks. “I am the weapon,” the suspect said. “That’s right, you (expletive) pedophiles. You G** d*** pedophiles. (expletive) all you pedophiles! (expletive) you! (expletive) you! (expletive) you!”
Police said 28-year-old Joseph Martin kept calling officers pedophiles while swearing at them. Just one officer was there initially and called a sergeant for backup. As the officer and the sergeant talked about getting the man out of the car, he tells them he has a gun. That’s when the officer rushes into the car. He says Martin has a gun while he continues to swear at him. A gunshot is barely heard, and blood is seen on Martin. Surprise police say they recovered a handgun in Martin’s right front pants pocket. He died at the scene. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is reviewing the incident, as is standard procedure.