Phoenix Critical Incident Briefing: In Custody Death Near 51 Avenue And Indian School Road

Press release from the City of Phoenix:

August 18, 2020

The Phoenix Police Department has released 911 calls, body-worn camera footage and surveillance video from a case where a man in police custody passed away.

The incident happened on August 4, 2020 at 10:30am near 51st Avenue and Indian School Road.

A woman called 911, concerned about a suspicious man making obscene gestures and looking into cars. She reported the man was walking around the parking lot of the shopping center at the corner of 51st Avenue and Indian School road.

“He’s kind of acting funny, he’s over there sticking his tongue out. I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” the caller said. She also told the dispatcher the man had ripped shorts on and was “holding his private parts.”

The first officer arrived at the scene and saw the man matching the caller’s description. That man was later identified as 28-year-old, Ramon Timothy Lopez.

As the officer drove toward the Lopez, the man he ran from the officer, through the parking lot before tripping onto the sidewalk of 51st Avenue and Indian School Road.

Surveillance video shows Lopez apparently fix his shoe and once again stands up and runs across the street.

Lopez then enters a convenience store and steals a drink from inside. As he’s leaving the store, the officer drives up.

Lopez throws some of the drink onto the officer and runs away into traffic on 51st Avenue. While the officer followed Lopez, the man continued throwing the drink onto the officer. Eventually the officer was able to grab Lopez and both of them fell onto the roadway.

While the first officer attempted to arrest Lopez, two additional officers arrived to assist. All three were wearing body-worn cameras which are included in this critical incident briefing video.

Complete unedited version of the body-worn camera videos are also being provided to the media for their independent review and publication.

Lopez refused to comply with the officers as they tried to place handcuffs on him. The officers held his arms and legs to keep him from kicking.Once Lopez was handcuffed, officers used a leg restraint to prevent him from kicking.

They also called for fire personnel. Officers also used the code “237” in the radio transmissions. This code is used to describe illegal drugs. In this case, the officer believed that Lopez was under the influence of illegal drugs due to his erratic behavior.

Officers placed Lopez in a patrol vehicle to move him out of the roadway. They then drove to a parking lot just west of 51st Avenue while they waited for Fire personnel. This movement to the parking lot took about a minute.

Upon arriving, officers immediately checked on Lopez and saw he was unresponsive. They took him out of the police vehicle, trying to wake him and provide him water. Fire personnel arrived and took over medical treatment.

Lopez was later pronounced deceased by medical personnel at a nearby hospital. The cause of death will be determined by the Office of the Medical Examiner.

The three officers involved in this Critical Incident are assigned to the Maryvale/Estrella Mountain Precinct. The first officer to respond has 14 years of service. The additional two officers have 3 and 10 years of service with the Phoenix Police Department.

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 Phoenix Police Professional Standards Bureau is underway along with a separate criminal investigation by the homicide unit. Findings will be turned over to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for review.

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

Please note that the faces of some officers may be blurred. This is part of a legal procedure officers can go through to redact their image and other person information.

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