The newly released footage shows the moments leading up to two police-involved fatalities — the July 17 shooting of Armando Reyes and the death of Javon Kevine after he was handcuffed by officers on July 20.
The footage is part of the agency's “critical incident briefings," which are released after any police shooting or in-custody death. The briefings are narrated by officers and include edited compilations of body camera footage, dispatch audio and other information regarding an incident. Activists have criticized the department's decision to release edited videos, rather than complete footage, of fatal incidents.
Reyes' death marked the 10th fatal shooting by Phoenix police officers so far this year, the same number as in all of 2022. Over the past year, Chief Michael Sullivan — contending with a wide-ranging federal investigation into his agency's use of deadly force — has emphasized de-escalation and revisions to the department's use-of-force policy.
But the police shootings have continued.
Man killed during investigation into car crash
Phoenix police officers began pursuing Reyes after dispatchers received several calls about a car that crashed into a light pole near Seventh and Lincoln streets, according to the critical incident briefing released on Aug. 1."A guy just wrecked really bad," one caller said, according to audio the department released. The caller added that the man had totaled his car and then wandered off. "The guy kinda took off. And he might be hurt fairly good. He's pretty drunk."
Officers said they found the car vacant when they arrived on the scene. They began searching for the driver and encountered Reyes — who matched callers' description — walking along railroad tracks at 18th and Harrison streets. Police found him about a mile and a half east of where the car crash.
Body camera footage released by Phoenix police showed a sergeant arriving on the scene where two patrol cars were already parked. Reyes was facing officers from a distance, distressed and screaming at them as they ordered him to get on the ground.
"Bring it down, bring it down," the sergeant told one of the officers in the video. He then addressed Reyes. "We just have to figure this out, all right," he said.
Reyes continued to scream unintelligibly at the officers.
"Let him tire himself out, okay," the sergeant said, as another officer started to give commands to Reyes through a bullhorn. "We want to calm him down."
The video then showed Reyes moving further down the side of the railroad tracks from the officers. They followed him. The footage showed Reyes pull out what appeared to be a gun. "Drop it, drop it," one officer yelled. Then gunshots could be heard as an unidentified officer fired his handgun at Reyes.
Reyes died on the scene, according to the department.
Officers handcuffed man who later died
On Aug. 4, Phoenix police released a critical incident briefing about a fatal encounter with Javon Kevine. The 44-year-old man died after being approached and handcuffed by officers on July 20.Sgt. Phil Krynsky identified the man as Kevine to Phoenix New Times. Kevine previously had not been named in materials released by the department.
Officers were called to 19th Avenue and Union Hills Drive, according to the briefing, by a woman who told dispatchers that a homeless man was being "aggressive." The caller said, "He keeps walking back and forth along the shopping strip."
The briefing begins with a clip of body camera footage from when officers arrived at the shopping plaza. In the video, Kevine unsteadily walked away from officers.
The body camera footage ends there and then picks up as two officers put Kevine in handcuffs. According to Phoenix police, Kevine fell into a brick wall as he walked away from officers, who then decided to intervene.
Temperatures reached 115 degrees in Phoenix when officers encountered Kevine and the video showed that he was shirtless in the blistering sun.
In the video, the officers each grabbed one of Kevine's wrists and tried to get him to sit down. He struggled as they handcuff him while standing and then walked him over to the shade in front of a storefront. Officers then sat Kevine down against a wall. At this point, Kevine still appeared to be responsive.
When paramedics arrived and began treating him, however, he stopped breathing. The body camera footage showed. Kevine was brought to a hospital, where he died.
It's not clear what led to Kevine's death. County records show that the medical examiner has not yet completed its investigation into his death.
Kevine's death was the 15th fatal incident involving Phoenix officers this year.
Fatal police encounters in 2023
- 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 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 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. Body camera footage showed that 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 where he brandished a knife, barricaded himself in a storage room and set the room afire, police said. When SWAT officers entered the room, Parra was unresponsive. 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 fired 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. It's still unclear whether Borja died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or from an officer's rifle fire, police said. As of Aug. 14, the medical examiner's report on Borja's death was still pending.
- June 28: Officers shot and killed Juan Reynoso, 26, who they claimed was holding a gun, which later turned out to be a replica. His family has called for justice for his death.
- 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, although the available body camera footage does not show clearly what occurred.
July 17: Officers shot and killed Armando Reyes, 35, after responding to a call about a car that crashed into a streetlight. Reyes was armed with a handgun, body camera footage from the incident showed. - July 20: Javon Kevine, 44, died after being handcuffed by officers at a strip mall at 19th Avenue and Union Hills Drive. The medical examiner's report on his death is still pending.
