Sergeant shoots man armed with a knife at Phoenix apartment complex

On April 24, officers received a call from an employee saying a man was trying to steal clothes from the business near 33rd Avenue and Bell Road. “There was this guy that was trying to steal a small jacket from the store, and he kept saying it was his, and I’m like “No, it’s not,” and he is on a green bike,” the caller said, according to police paperwork. The dispatcher asked about the stolen jacket when the woman starts yelling. “No! Hey! He just assaulted me,” she said. “He kicked my leg. I want him trespassed and off the property.” The man then takes off away from the business riding his bike, papers say.

A sergeant driving found the unidentified suspect riding a bike near the business, and surveillance video shows the sergeant yelling at the man from his patrol car. “You better stop! You better stop right now!” he yells. “What? What did I do?” the man yells back. The footage shows the man refusing to stop, instead taking off into a nearby apartment complex, where the sergeant lost him.

According to court documents, that’s when the sergeant began walking around the complex and found the man. “Get down right now! Right now!” he yelled as he starts chasing the suspect. “He’s got a knife in his hand,” the sergeant can be heard saying on the body-worn footage. “You better stop. Drop the knife.” The sergeant then caught up to the man as another officer arrived for backup. “Do it. This is it, do it,” the suspect said. The sergeant tells the second officer to tase the suspect.

Suddenly, the man is seen running toward the sergeant while still holding the knife. Three gunshots are heard at the same time an officer uses a stun gun on the man. The man immediately falls to the ground, yelling and moaning. “He’s down,” the sergeant said. “Help. I can’t breathe. Help, please,” the suspect is heard saying. Soon after, the man was taken to the hospital with serious injuries but in stable condition. He has not been identified yet. The sergeant involved in the shooting is with the Cactus Park Precinct and has been with the department for over 24 years.