Phoenix police body-cam video released of a fatal shooting of a man with ‘fake’ gun
By: On Wednesday, June 28, police responded to a domestic violence call around 9 p.m. in a neighborhood southwest of 19th Avenue and Buckeye Road. In the newly released 911 calls, a neighbor from across the way witnessing the domestic violence called 911 and told the operator that a man, later identified as 26-year-old Juan Reynoso, Reynoso, was hitting a woman. She also said that one of the six children was living with him, and the woman looked at her and asked if she could call 911.
“And then he put them all inside the house,” the neighbor told the 911 operator. “I don’t know if you have to, like, come and check on it because it’s not the first time he hits her.” The neighbor continued, saying that the woman was trying to leave through the house’s front door when Reynoso “grabbed her by the neck and threw her back inside.”
The six children ranged from 12 years old to a toddler, and, according to the operator, the kids screamed during the incident and ran out of the back door. When two officers arrived, one spoke with Reynoso while the other talked to the woman and witness.
The first officer’s body-cam video shows a shirtless Reynoso wearing blue jeans, carrying what appears to be a cell phone. He can be heard saying, “No, I want to die” and “I want to die” to the woman. She responded after each statement with “no,” “please,” “stop,” “babe,” and “Reynoso” in various combinations.
Then he appears to be speaking at officers asking, “Kill me, please. Kill me, please. Kill me, please.” The video shows the first officer approaching Reynoso, saying, “Just stop, dude. Just stop. Just stop messing around. Stop, alright?”
Reynoso responds, “alright,” multiple times. The officer then tells him to put his hands behind his back. Reynoso then says, “No, no, no,” as the officer reaches his arm. He pushes the officer’s arms away and starts running. Meanwhile, the woman begs Reynoso not to run.
The officers run after him across the street, in front of a house. The body-cam video shows Reynoso stopping and bending down. The first officer draws his gun and yells, “He’s got a gun! Hey, put it down!” The officer approaches Reynoso while telling him to put the gun down. Then at least six shots can be heard.
The officer calls dispatch for aid, and Reynoso can be heard screaming, “****, it’s fake! It’s fake! Oh, ****! It’s fake!” The second officer’s body-cam shows that Reynoso fell to his back. The officers then tell him to put his hands up.
Reynoso was taken to a hospital, where he later died. A photo of the gun was shown in the video. It turned out to be a pellet gun resembling a semi-automatic handgun, according to police.