13 Aug 3rd–Aug 9th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | officers speaking to Reynoso outside of the apartment while a young woman also stood outside with officers. In the footage, Reynoso can be seen pacing back and forth. At one point, an officer attempted to grab Reynoso and detain him. Reynoso broke free and ran from police. Both offi- cers pursued Reynoso on foot until he reached a lawn across the street, where footage shows him grabbing something off of the ground. It is not clear what the object is in the footage. One officer can be heard shouting, “Hey, he’s got a gun. Put it down, put it down.” Immediately following the officer’s command, at least one officer shoots Reynoso as he is stepping away from them. The agency said that both officers shot him, but that’s not clear from the body camera footage. Reynoso then fell to the ground, yelling. The weapon officers believed to be a gun was a pellet gun that looked like a handgun, the agency said. A photo of the pellet gun was displayed in the video. Reynoso was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Man killed as police investigate storage unit break in According to released dispatch audio, officers encountered Mendez on July 1 when responding to a call that a couple was trying to break into a storage unit at Storage Sense, a facility located at Washington and 30th streets in east Phoenix. “He’s trying to break into a door that’s locked,” the caller told dispatchers. The body camera footage released in the briefing begins when officers arrived and detained Mendez and his companion. The two are seen seated against the doors of separate storage units, about 10 feet apart. One officer attempted to run a records check on Mendez, but he had given the officer a false name and couldn’t be identified. At that point, one officer said, “Now you’re being detained,” and two officers attempted to handcuff Mendez. The body camera of one of the officers fell off, according to the video, so it did not capture what occurred. The other officer’s body camera remained in place but did not provide a clear view of the incident. The two officers struggled with Mendez as they tried to handcuff him. “Stop fucking grabbing the Taser, or I’m going to shoot you,” one officer said, although whether or not Mendez successfully grabbed the device is not captured in the footage. At this point, several gunshots can be heard. According to the Phoenix police briefing, Mendez was shot and taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Both officers were injured in the encounter and one received “serious but non-life-threatening” injuries. 10th fatal shooting this year Phoenix police officers shot and killed Reyes on July 17 after he allegedly fled the scene of a hit-and-run in east Phoenix. In a July 18 statement, the agency said that Reyes pointed a gun at officers before he was shot. Body camera footage from the incident has not yet been made available to the public. But generally, within two weeks after a fatal police encounter, the depart- ment releases a “critical incident briefing” about the incident. According to the available police account, officers encountered Reyes at around 8 p.m. while responding to an acci- dent in east Phoenix near Harrison and 18th streets. They believed that he left his vehicle at the scene and departed on foot. Officers observed Reyes “acting errati- cally” and walking along the railroad tracks, according to the agency’s initial statement. They then used an unspecified “less-lethal tool” on Reyes, but he did not comply with commands and at some point pulled out a gun, police said. At least one officer shot Reyes, and he was pronounced dead on the scene, the agency said. Matt Hennie Phoenix police officers have shot and killed 10 people this year. Fatal Shootings from p 10
