Phoenix Police Shootings Tie All-Time Record 7 Months Into Year

PHOENIX, AZ — A little more than halfway into the year, the Phoenix Police Department has tied its all-time record for the most police-involved shootings in a year, according to a report from the Arizona Republic. A shooting Monday night brought the total for the year to 31, the same number reported in 2013.

That’s more than occurred in all of 2017, when there were 21 police shootings. There were 25 in 2016 and 17 in 2015, according to department data reviewed by the newspaper.

Across Maricopa County, there have been 59 police shootings, which the newspaper said is close to a record set five years ago.

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The spike in Phoenix police shootings prompted the city of Phoenix to spend $149,000 for an independent study by Arizona State University and the Washington, D.C.-based National Police Foundation. Officials hope the study will give them a better picture of what has spurred the uptick.

Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams and the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association both noted that in a large majority of the cases, suspects were armed, were attacking an officer or had committed an assault before police arrived.

“A cop can have all the de-escalation training in the world, but it’s not necessarily going to work all the time if you’re dealing with extremely volatile, uncooperative people,” Ken Crane of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association said.

The Arizona Republic report said Phoenix is approximately the same size as San Antonio and Philadelphia, which so far this year have reported eight and four police-involved shootings, respectively.

Read the full story on the Arizona Republic.