Body-cam Footage of Phoenix Police Officers Shooting James Garcia - Was This Justified?

Phoenix, Arizona — The Phoenix Police Department released information, audio, and visuals from an officer-involved shooting happened July 4, 2020 near 56th Avenue and​ Glenrosa. The incident claimed the life of 28-year-old James Porter Garcia. Officers first responded to the area around 1 p.m. after a 911 caller said a man who had stabbed him the previous week had returned to the area and was threatening him again. “He’s trying to kill me again,” the caller told the dispatcher. The caller told officers the suspect was a Hispanic man approximately 28 years old and that he believed his first name was Eric. While still on the phone with dispatchers, officers from the Maryvale-Estrella Mountain precinct arrived on scene, talking with the stabbing victim and seeing his wounds. The victim lead officers to a home on Glenrosa, telling them one man had a knife and another had a gun. Officers arrived at the residence making contact with several people at the home.

At 1:25 p.m., they make the first contact with James Garcia who was inside a vehicle in the driveway. An officer knocks on the vehicle, asking the man if he is okay. The officer instructs Garcia to turn off the car and come over to the area where other individuals from in and around the home are talking with officers. “We are doing an investigation over here and I don’t want you sitting in the car,” the officer says to Garcia. The officer explains they are investigating a crime and need to identify everyone at the house, but Garcia refuses to get out of the vehicle. This conversation continues calmly for another 10 minutes with Garcia saying he didn’t have identification on him, but first told officers his name was Samuels Garcia-Salazar but then corrects himself saying his name is John Salazar Banuelos. He then told officers his birthday was January 1st, 1982, a date which would make him 38, not his actual age of 28.

Garcia admits to the officer he has a misdemeanor warrant, which the officer tells Garcia he isn’t concerned with. Ten minutes into the conversation, the Sergeant on scene comes over to tell the man he needs to get out of the crime scene. “Is there a reason you are not getting out of the car?” the Sergeant asks. He further explains to Garcia that there was a stabbing at the house, and he needs to clear people from the crime scene. One minute and fifteen seconds into this conversation with the Sergeant, Garcia rolls up the window, but still doesn’t get out of the car. Less than a minute later, one of the officer shouts “He’s got a gun!” Other officers notice the change in demeanor and run over to the vehicle while the officer who first noticed the gun in Garcia’s right hand shouts commands to drop the gun. Garcia holds his left hand to his head and mouths to the officer “shoot me, shoot me.” The officer standing next to the driver side door warns Garcia that if he lifts his armed right hand any further, he is going to shoot.

Thirteen minutes after first contacting Garcia and approximately 50 seconds after first noticing the gun, two officers fire their weapons into the vehicle. The gun remains in Garcia’s hands and they continue to shout demands that he drop it. Another officer who was not involved in the shooting runs toward the scene, retrieving the gun from the vehicle in order to safely provide medical attention to the man. Once the gun was removed and secured, medical assistance was provided to Mr. Garcia, but he did not survive the injuries. The name which had been provided to officers by Garcia was not his real name. Detectives identified him through fingerprints during the investigation and found that Garcia had outstanding felony and misdemeanor warrants for his arrest. Through interviews and other investigative efforts, detectives learned that Garcia recently came into possession of the firearm. Since he was on probation, Garcia was a prohibited possessor. Garcia did not live at the home where the shooting happened.