| NEWS | ‘Piss Poor’ Phoenix cops criticized for releasing limited bodycam footage after fatal shooting. BY KATYA SCHWENK cers’ body camera footage of his last moments — all of the footage. But for two weeks, they received A nothing. Then, on October 7, the Phoenix Police Department released limited footage of the killing in what it calls a “critical incident briefing.” The department releases similar briefings whenever a Phoenix police officer shoots someone. The briefings are highly edited compilations of body camera video and 911 calls, stitched together with a voiceover, and do not include all of the video captured by officers during an incident. In the wake of Osman’s death, the Phoenix police practice of proactively releasing “critical incident briefings” in lieu of raw footage of an incident has come under scrutiny. Experts interviewed by Phoenix New Times were divided over whether or not the briefings are valuable, but they all said that departments should listen when a community demands greater transparency. Phoenix police said all of the body camera footage of the September shooting was provided to Osman’s family within two weeks and will be released to anyone who requests it under the Arizona Public Records Law — although the agency regu- larly takes months to fulfill such requests. “We do release the full bodycam footage,” said Donna Rossi, a Phoenix police spokes- person. “And we did in this case.” Quacy Smith, an attorney for Osman’s family, called the Phoenix police policy of releasing limited and edited bodycam footage “piss poor” and nothing more than an attempt “to try to tell a story and a narrative the way [the police] wanted to.” “We have family here that has lost a family member,” he said during an October 7 press conference. “And two weeks later, you give them parts that you select — that you think is relevant.” 14 ‘Let’s Get This Motherfucker’ Osman, a 34-year-old Black man, encoun- tered officers as they drove along 19th Avenue at sunset on September 24. Police said he threw rocks at two passing patrol vehicles and caused minor exterior Katya Schwenk Quacy Smith, an attorney for Osman’s family, holds a sample of rocks collected at the scene during a press conference on September 30. damage, which is documented in the police briefing. The officers stop at a different location, briefly confer, and then return to the intersection where they saw Osman. In the body camera footage, one officer is heard saying, “Let’s get this motherfucker.” As officers return and park within a few feet of Osman, video footage shows him throwing rocks at their vehicles. Seconds after exiting their vehicles, two officers shoot him with live rounds. At least one of the police cruisers was equipped with a shotgun loaded with bean bag rounds, according to attorneys for Osman’s family. The officers, assigned to the Desert Horizon Precinct on North 56th Street in Scottsdale, both have less than three years of experience with Phoenix police, according to the briefing video. Osman’s family has filed an $85 million claim against the city over his death, signaling an impending lawsuit. The offi- cers’ actions, according to the claim, were “extreme and outrageous.” The killing has drawn a public outcry across Phoenix. On October 9, activists held a vigil and protest in Osman’s memory. The incident has deeply impacted the Somali and Muslim communities in Phoenix; Osman and his family came to Arizona as refugees from Somalia. Questions remain about Osman’s death. Just 51 seconds of dispatch audio and less than two minutes of body camera footage — across all three officers originally involved in the encounter — were provided in the nearly seven-minute “critical incident briefing” released by police. Voiceovers by Sgt. Brian Bower, a police department spokesperson, made up the rest. At one point in the briefing video, photos of several large rocks the fter Ali Osman was shot and killed by Phoenix police officers on September 24, grieving family members requested to view the offi- >> p 16 OCT 27TH–NOV 2ND, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com