Suspect hit with a stun bag when he tried to hide from officers in a dryer
By: This incident began near Bell Road and the I17 freeway, when Phoenix police were sent to the area to investigate a report of an aggravated assault. A security guard made the 911 call and said he was working nearby and recognized a man that was banned from the property he was guarding. When he got out of his car to talk to him, he noticed the man had a gun. The security guard said he got back in his car and saw the man point the gun at him and walk away. The security guard started to follow him and called police.
The suspect with the gun continued to walk to a parking lot of a nearby hotel where he came across someone, he knew who was in a Uhaul truck. He verbally attacked his male acquaintance - pistol whipped him, pointed a gun at the man's head, and pistol whipped him again. The suspect then went into the hotel.
Officers arrived at the hotel and began looking for the suspect. As they were inside the hotel, they started to get information from a Sergeant watching security cameras.
The suspect was located near a stairwell and given commands - but ran away. Officers used a 40mm launcher to try to get the suspect in custody, which had no effect.
The officers lost sight of the suspect and continued their search of the hotel. The suspect was seen in another stairwell still holding the gun. He left the stairwell and pointed the gun at officers. One officer responded by firing his duty weapon. Here is the body worn camera video the of that interaction
The suspect is holding the gun in his right hand and a cell phone and backpack in his left hand. The suspect can be seen looking through a small window on the stairwell door. He opens the door and points the gun down the hallway where officers are standing. This is when the officer involved shooting occurs.
The suspect retreats to a lower stairwell landing where he points the gun, first, at the lower level stairwell and then at the upper level stairwell door.
The suspect then ran to a laundry room on the second floor of the hotel and tried to hide from officers in a dryer. The suspect began pointing the gun to his own head. An officer discharged multiple less lethal stun bags at the suspect – causing him to comply. He was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital for injuries caused by the less lethal projectiles. He was not struck by any bullets. The suspect was later released and booked into the Maricopa County Jail.
The officer involved in this shooting has been on the department for six years and is assigned to the Cactus Park Precinct.
Conclusions about whether the actions of the officers are consistent with department policy and the law will not be made until all facts are known and the investigation is complete. An internal investigation by the Professional Standard Bureau is currently underway, in addition to a criminal investigation. Once the criminal investigation is complete it will then be reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
Public records law required redaction of certain personal identifying information before video is released publicly. That is why you may see some parts of Body Worn Camera (BWC) blurred or covered with a black box. Redacted video is released to local media in conjunction with the release of this Critical Incident Briefing for independent review and publication. Complete, unedited versions of the BWC are released to attorneys and the courts as evidence in a criminal case.