7 Jan 4th–Jan 10th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Anthony Sansotta, 36, during a DUI investigation. • March 5: Officers shot and killed James Saucedo, 42. Officers said Saucedo shot a woman before they arrived. Body camera footage showed him grabbing his gun during a struggle with officers before he was fatally shot. • March 6: Officers shot and killed Anthony Castro, 40. Body camera footage showed that Castro was stabbing a woman when he was shot. • March 14: Police said Daniel Parra, 37, fled when officers tried to stop him as he walked in an HOV lane on Interstate 17. Officers chased Parra into a QuikTrip where he brandished a knife, barricaded himself inside a storage room and set the room afire, police said. When SWAT offi- cers entered the room, Parra was unre- sponsive. The medical examiner determined that Parra’s primary cause of death was smoke inhalation. • April 1: Officers shot and killed Dwight Cornwell, 76, after he fired a handgun into the air while the officers were inves- tigating reports of an attempted burglary at an apartment complex. • June 19: Luis Mateo Jacobo Borja, 29, died after shooting at multiple police officers during a pursuit, sending two officers to the hospital. It’s still unclear whether Borja died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or from an officer’s rifle fire, police said. • June 28: Officers shot and killed Juan Reynoso, 26, who they claimed was holding a gun, which later turned out to be a replica. His family has called for justice for his death. • July 1: Officers shot and killed Raul Mendez, 35, while responding to a complaint about a burglary. They claimed Mendez tried to grab an officer’s Taser during a struggle, although publicly released body camera footage does not show clearly what occurred. • July 17: Officers shot and killed Armando Reyes, 35, after responding to a call about a car that crashed into a streetlight. Reyes was armed with a handgun, body camera footage from the incident showed. • July 20: Javon Kevine, 44, died after being handcuffed by officers at a strip mall at 19th Avenue and Union Hills Drive. Kevine’s cause of death was ruled by medical examiners as hyperthermia due to heat exposure. He was also found to have fentanyl and methamphetamines in his system. • Sept 9: Robert Crockett, 26, was shot and killed by officers after allegedly committing grand theft auto with a handgun. Police said later the weapon was a pellet gun. • Nov. 29: Benjamin Austin, 58, was arrested and suffered what police called a “medical episode” in custody before being hospitalized and dying the next day. • Dec. 16: Alton Tungovia, 37, was shot and killed by officers about 2 p.m. when they responded to calls reporting a fight that escalated into a man being stabbed. Officers found Tungovia near 49th Street and McDowell Road. They tried to stop Tungovia by firing pepper balls at him when he refused to stop, according to police. Tungovia continued to walk away with an unidentified object in one of his hands, police said. An officer shot him and he died at an area hospital. The Phoenix police department is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice for its officers’ use of deadly force, among other concerns. The investi- gation has lasted more than two years. Chief Michael Sullivan was brought in to lead the agency in September 2022 as it dealt with the probe. Top: Raul Mendez sat against a storage unit before police attempted to handcuff him. Bottom: On Aug. 4, Phoenix police released a critical incident briefing about a fatal encounter with Javon Kevine. (Photos courtesy of Phoenix Police Department)
