In the span of four days, Phoenix police officers shot and killed two people — bringing the department's fatal shooting toll to nine this year.
The recent deaths are the department's first confirmed fatal shootings since officers shot and killed 76-year-old Dwight Cornwell on April 1.
On June 28, police shot and killed a 26-year-old man who they claimed was holding a gun at the time. The police department later said that the gun turned out to be fake.
On July 1, officers shot and killed a 35-year-old man who they said grabbed an officer's Taser during a struggle.
The Phoenix Police Department will likely release "critical incident briefings" for both shootings. 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. Phoenix New Times was not able to otherwise corroborate the department's initial accounts of the circumstances surrounding the shootings.
The shooting deaths come as the department contends with a wide-ranging federal investigation which includes officers' excessive use of force. The number of police killings this year is outpacing that of recent years. In 2022, Phoenix police officers shot and killed 10 people. In 2021, cops shot and killed six, according to Washington Post data.
Father of six killed in June 28 shooting
According to the department's initial statements, the June 28 incident began when officers received a call about a fight between a man and woman near Buckeye Road and 19th Avenue. When the police arrived, they said a 26-year-old man, Juan Reynoso, fled the scene.
Officers pursued Reynoso until he stopped running and "armed himself with a gun," police said. At that point, officers shot him. The gun was later identified as a "replica firearm," according to the department. Additional details about the incident have not been released.
An obituary for Reynoso said that he was the "devoted father" of six children with "a contagious smile, a heart of gold and a passion for life that was infectious." Reynoso's mother told New Times that the family was not yet ready to speak publicly about his death.
Burglary call leads to shooting death
Police said the July 1 incident began when dispatchers received a call about a burglary at a business located at 3036 East Washington St.
When officers arrived, at around 3:30 p.m., they encountered Raul Mendez and a woman. When the officers confronted Mendez, he struggled with them and tried to grab one of the officer's Taser, police said. "The man did not obey officers’ commands; this is when the officer-involved shooting occurred," police said.
One of the two officers at the scene shot Mendez. The other, police said, suffered "serious but non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the incident," though it was not immediately clear what had caused those injuries.
Mendez died at the hospital, police said.
Cause of death unclear in deadly police chase
The two recent shootings were preceded by another death that occurred during a police chase. Luis Mateo Jacobo Borja, 29, died from gunshot wounds on June 19.
That incident began the morning of June 19, when Borja shot a Department of Public Safety trooper as he approached Borja's car during a traffic stop in Phoenix, body camera footage released by Phoenix police showed.
Borja fled in his car and quickly was surrounded by three Phoenix police patrol vehicles near 35th Avenue and McDowell Road. Borja shot at one of the officers, who then returned fire with a rifle. Borja fled again, encountering another Phoenix officer in a patrol car. He shot at that officer too, body camera footage showed. Borja then drove his vehicle into a wall.
Police said that Borja died of gunshot wounds. It's not yet clear whether he died by suicide or if he was hit by gunfire from police. Sgt. Robert Scherer, a Phoenix police spokesperson, said that agency investigators are waiting for the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner to make that determination.
13 fatal Phoenix police encounters in 2023
Phoenix police officers have been involved in 13 fatal incidents so far this year, including an in-custody death that was recently determined to be drug-related:
The recent deaths are the department's first confirmed fatal shootings since officers shot and killed 76-year-old Dwight Cornwell on April 1.
On June 28, police shot and killed a 26-year-old man who they claimed was holding a gun at the time. The police department later said that the gun turned out to be fake.
On July 1, officers shot and killed a 35-year-old man who they said grabbed an officer's Taser during a struggle.
The Phoenix Police Department will likely release "critical incident briefings" for both shootings. 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. Phoenix New Times was not able to otherwise corroborate the department's initial accounts of the circumstances surrounding the shootings.
The shooting deaths come as the department contends with a wide-ranging federal investigation which includes officers' excessive use of force. The number of police killings this year is outpacing that of recent years. In 2022, Phoenix police officers shot and killed 10 people. In 2021, cops shot and killed six, according to Washington Post data.
Father of six killed in June 28 shooting
According to the department's initial statements, the June 28 incident began when officers received a call about a fight between a man and woman near Buckeye Road and 19th Avenue. When the police arrived, they said a 26-year-old man, Juan Reynoso, fled the scene. Officers pursued Reynoso until he stopped running and "armed himself with a gun," police said. At that point, officers shot him. The gun was later identified as a "replica firearm," according to the department. Additional details about the incident have not been released.
An obituary for Reynoso said that he was the "devoted father" of six children with "a contagious smile, a heart of gold and a passion for life that was infectious." Reynoso's mother told New Times that the family was not yet ready to speak publicly about his death.
Burglary call leads to shooting death
Police said the July 1 incident began when dispatchers received a call about a burglary at a business located at 3036 East Washington St. When officers arrived, at around 3:30 p.m., they encountered Raul Mendez and a woman. When the officers confronted Mendez, he struggled with them and tried to grab one of the officer's Taser, police said. "The man did not obey officers’ commands; this is when the officer-involved shooting occurred," police said.
One of the two officers at the scene shot Mendez. The other, police said, suffered "serious but non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the incident," though it was not immediately clear what had caused those injuries.
Mendez died at the hospital, police said.
An officer's patrol vehicle was shot multiple times during an incident on June 19, police said.
Phoenix Police Department
Cause of death unclear in deadly police chase
The two recent shootings were preceded by another death that occurred during a police chase. Luis Mateo Jacobo Borja, 29, died from gunshot wounds on June 19.That incident began the morning of June 19, when Borja shot a Department of Public Safety trooper as he approached Borja's car during a traffic stop in Phoenix, body camera footage released by Phoenix police showed.
Borja fled in his car and quickly was surrounded by three Phoenix police patrol vehicles near 35th Avenue and McDowell Road. Borja shot at one of the officers, who then returned fire with a rifle. Borja fled again, encountering another Phoenix officer in a patrol car. He shot at that officer too, body camera footage showed. Borja then drove his vehicle into a wall.
Police said that Borja died of gunshot wounds. It's not yet clear whether he died by suicide or if he was hit by gunfire from police. Sgt. Robert Scherer, a Phoenix police spokesperson, said that agency investigators are waiting for the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner to make that determination.
Phoenix police officers use a hobble to restrain Bryan Funk in bodycam footage of the incident on Feb. 11.
Phoenix Police Department
13 fatal Phoenix police encounters in 2023
Phoenix police officers have been involved in 13 fatal incidents so far this year, including an in-custody death that was recently determined to be drug-related:- Jan. 3: Officers shot and killed Cosme Medina Núñez, a 46-year-old man who was holding a pair of scissors.
- Jan. 7: Officers shot and killed Kenneth Hearne, 37, who was armed with a handgun. Hearne shot a Scottsdale police officer the day prior.
- Feb. 11: Bryan Funk, a 40-year-old man who had just been released from prison, died after multiple officers pinned him to the ground and restrained his legs during an arrest. The Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner later determined that Funk's death was the result of meth intoxication and a heart condition, according to a report obtained by New Times.
- Feb. 22: Derin Holmes, 41, died of a gunshot wound. Although officers fired at Holmes, Phoenix police said the fatal wound was self-inflicted. A subsequent investigation by the county medical examiner also determined Holmes died by suicide.
- Feb. 22: Officers shot and killed Jason Resendez, 47, who pulled out a gun as officers approached him.
- Feb. 25: Officers shot and killed Matthew 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. Officers said 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 near Cactus Road, where he brandished a knife and barricaded himself in a storage room and set it afire, police said. When SWAT officers entered the room, Parra was unresponsive. An investigation by 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 shot a handgun into the air while they were investigating 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. Police said it's still unclear whether Borja died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or from an officer's rifle fire.
- June 28: Officers shot and killed Juan Reynoso, 26, who they claimed was holding a gun, which later turned to be a replica. No body camera footage or other evidence has been released about the incident.
- 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. No body camera footage or other evidence has been released about the incident.
