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PLEA Statement Regarding the 4th of July Critical Incident

Phoenix Police Officers were involved in a critical incident on July 4, 2020 in the 5600 block of West Glenrosa Avenue after responding to a call for service where the 911 caller stated that a suspect who threatened and stabbed him a week ago was back in the area and another subject with that individual had a gun.

During their investigation, officers made contact with James Garcia when they saw him sitting in a vehicle parked in a driveway.  After talking with him for ten minutes, he was asked to get out of the vehicle, so they could secure the scene.  Garcia rolled up the windows, armed himself with a handgun and refused numerous verbal commands to drop the gun.  Officers responded with lethal force after Garcia raised the gun and pointed it at officers.

City Council Member Carlos Garcia immediately jumped to conclusions about what occurred releasing misleading and inaccurate information.

On Tuesday, July 7, 2020, Chief Jeri Williams made an announcement she asked the FBI to conduct an independent civil rights review of the incident.

PLEA does not agree with the Chief’s decision as we don’t believe a civil rights violation occurred and it was merely to appease Councilman Garcia.

KTAR Radio host Mike Broomhead interviewed Councilman Garcia on July 8, 2020 and it’s evident by his comments that even if the FBI conducts an investigation and exonerates our officers, he will not be satisfied.

CLICK HERE to read PLEA’s statement.