Critical Incident Briefing: July 19, 2022 – 111th Avenue and Camelback Road | https://www.phoenix.gov/newsroom/police/2433 | Police | | 8/2/2022 7:00:00 AM | https://www.phoenix.gov/newssite/Lists/NewsArticle/Attachments/2433/Twitter, Next Door.png | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q8pvXvc3to | Critical Incident Briefing: July 19, 2022 – 111th Avenue and Camelback Road | <div class="ExternalClass87C6BB7599F142109F34FF0100236E66"><html>
<p><strong style="background-color:window;color:windowtext;font-size:10pt;">WARNING: The attached video may contain strong language as well as graphic images which may be disturbing to some people. Viewer discretion is advised.</strong></p>
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<br>This incident occurred in the area of 111<sup>th</sup> Avenue and Camelback Road, when a 911 call was made about a resident, later identified as 22-year-old Matthew Begay, threatening to jump out of the second story window of a local group home. </p>
<p>During the 911 call, the dispatcher placed a simultaneous call to an outside contracted mental health company requesting a mobile crisis team to respond. About 5 minutes later, 911 received confirmation that the mobile crisis team was 25 minutes away. </p>
<p>On the way to the call a supervisor asked for a member of the Phoenix Police Crisis Intervention team to respond. He was later told a crisis team member was unavailable. </p>
<p>The Phoenix Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team, commonly known as CIT, encompasses both full-time detectives trained in metal heath situations, and patrol officers with 40 hours of crisis response training. The role of theses specialized officers is to assist during crisis situations if available. </p>
<p> At about 10:12 a.m., The first two officers arrived at the group home and spoke with the caller who directed them to Matthew inside the home. The two officers entered the group home and began to walk up the stairs. They found Matthew standing on the landing of the second floor.</p>
<p>Matthew was looking down at the officers and positioned blocking the top floor of the home. As officers were talking with Matthew, they attempted to walk up the stairs. Officers stayed on the middle landing of the stairs in order to remain in a safer position. </p>
<p>The officers continued talking with Matthew and offering him help, though he told officers he wasn't coming down and would not let them up. The two officers continued negotiating with Matthew for about 15 minutes. During negotiations Officers again requested someone from the Crisis intervention Team. No one was available. </p>
<p> <span style="background-color:window;color:windowtext;font-size:10pt;">Over the next few minutes, additional officers arrived on scene and stayed at the bottom of the stairs. At about 10:31 a.m., Matthew is heard saying he was trying to die. Shortly after - he is seen removing a knife from his right pants pocket. He begins to take a step down the stairs toward officers.</span></p>
<p> <span style="background-color:window;color:windowtext;font-size:10pt;">Officers ordered Matthew to drop the knife, which he did not. One officer used a Taser in an attempt to get Matthew to comply. The impact of the taser did not have any effect on Matthew and he continued to walk towards officers.</span></p>
<p>One officer then fired his duty weapon striking Matthew and causing him fall onto the middle landing of the stairs. </p>
<p>To better provide medical aid to Matthew, officers carried him to the front patio area of the house and away from the three occupants who were still upstairs.</p>
<p>Once outside, officers continued providing medical aid until the Phoenix Fire department arrived and took over. Matthew was transported to the hospital where he later died from his injuries. </p>
<p>The officer involved in this shooting has been with the department for 2 years and is assigned to the Maryvale Estrella Mountain Precinct.</p>
<p>This incident is the subject of both an internal and a criminal investigation, which will be reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. Conclusions about whether the actions of the officers are consistent with department policy and the law will not be made until all facts are known and the investigation is complete.</p>
<p>Body-worn cameras are used by all officers assigned to patrol and several specialty units. Per policy, they are worn at mid-torso level and capture the view of the line of sight from that perspective. It's important to note that the camera lens is fixed and does not capture everything seen or experienced by the officer. </p>
<p>When activated, both audio and video turn on. The body worn camera has a buffer of video without audio for the 30 seconds prior to activation. This feature is designed to capture incidents that happen suddenly where an officer doesn't immediately activate the camera. The Phoenix Police Department does not currently use in-car camera systems. </p>
<p>Conclusions about whether the actions of the officers are consistent with department policy and the law will not be made until all facts are known and the investigation is complete. An internal investigation by the Professional Standard Bureau is currently underway, in addition to a criminal investigation. Once the criminal investigation is complete it will then be reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.</p>
<p>Public records law required redaction of certain personal identifying information before video is released publicly. That is why you may see some parts of Body Worn Camera (BWC) blurred or covered with a black box. Redacted video is released to local media in conjunction with the release of this Critical Incident Briefing for independent review and publication. Complete, unedited versions of the BWC are released to attorneys and the courts as evidence in a criminal case.<br></p>
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</html></div> | <a href="https://phoenix.gov/police">https://phoenix.gov/police</a> | Video | | police | | Police | | | | | | Brian Bower | 602-534-5050 | | | | phoenixpd.pio@phoenix.gov | | | | | | | | | | |