New Video Of Officer-Involved In Shooting At 24th Street And Buckeye In City Of Phoenix

Press release from the City of Phoenix:

June 27, 2020

The Phoenix Police Department has released a Critical Incident Briefing video from an officer involved shooting which occurred at 5:50 p.m. on March 13, 2020.

Officers of the Airport Bureau and Mountain View Precinct were called to the area of a bus depot at 24th Street and Buckeye Road for multiple calls of a man with a knife. Callers indicated that the man was cutting himself and was bleeding. Officers initially did not see the man but remained in the area. A few minutes later the officer assigned to the Airport Bureau found the man walking along 24th Street south of Buckeye Road. The officer approached the man who was still armed with the knife. The initial encounter was not captured on video because officers assigned to the Airport Bureau are not equipped with body-worn cameras (BWC). Additional officers who responded to assist were equipped with BWC. They attempted to speak with the man and asked him numerous times to drop the knife. The man refused, moving toward the officers. One of the officers fired at the suspect, another deployed an electronic control device commonly known as a Taser.

The man was shot and was also impacted by the Taser probes, which are designed to affect the central nervous system, temporarily stopping the aggressive actions of a person. Officers realized that the man was still armed with the knife. Prior to approaching the man, additional commands were given, but he refused to drop the knife. At this point, the taser probers were re-activated and the man dropped the knife. The man was transported to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries prior to being booked into the Maricopa County Jail. He has been identified as 35-year-old Mario Valenzuela. He has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault charges. There were no other injuries to community members or officers. The officer who fired his duty weapon is 52 years old and is assigned to the Airport Bureau. He has 19 years of service. The second officer is assigned to the Mountain View precinct, is 23 years old and has less than 2 years of service.

Please be advised, the attached video may contain strong language as well as graphic video and images which may be disturbing to some people. Viewer discretion is advised.

This press release was produced by the City of Phoenix. The views expressed here are the author’s own.