New body-cam video shows Phoenix officer shooting at armed man near high school

Arizona’s Family just obtained body-cam videos that show when one Phoenix Police officer shot at an armed man near Washington High School late last month. According to police, a detective was following up on Feb. 22 on a domestic violence aggravated assault suspect when he spotted a man who matched the description in the area of 23rd and Glendale avenues. He called for backup. “Just let units know that more than likely he’s going to be armed,” the detective told the dispatcher.

Two officers were driving down 23rd Avenue when they spotted the suspect, later identified as 41-year-old Derin Holmes. “I saw someone was just jump over the fence,” an officer says in the body-cam video. Holmes had gone over a fence and into the parking lot of an apartment complex.

The officers followed him as he went behind a white pickup truck. “We got him here,” said one officer as the pair got out of their patrol SUV. The video shows the pair running with their guns out, but Holmes can’t be seen in the video. Police said he had a gun in his hand, and the officers heard one shot fired. That’s when one officer shot his gun three times. “Cover, cover, cover!” the officer shouts as the two retreat back behind their SUV.

Police said the officers used “less-lethal” tools to get Holmes to come out from behind the truck, but he was already dead. Investigators later confirmed he shot himself. None of the shots fired by the officer hit Holmes. No officers were hurt. The unidentified officer who opened fire has been with the department for about nine months.