Authorities release video of fatal shooting by Tucson police officer
Authorities have released bodycam footage from a Tucson police shooting that killed 49-year-old Francisco Javier Galarza at a Circle K on Aug. 25.
According to the Pima Regional Critical Incident Team (PRCIT), Tucson Police SWAT officers had been conducting surveillance on Galarza, regarding active felony arrest warrants stemming from a home invasion and bank robbery just before the shooting.
Officials said that officers approached Galarza when he came out of the store at 11:51 a.m. and told him to get down on the ground so that they could arrest him. But Galarza tried to flee and removed a black handgun out of a bag that he was carrying, according to the incident team.
Officer Barrie Pedersen released his police dog, Kiro, to apprehend Galarza and brought him to the ground, according to police. Police said that while Galarza was on the ground, he pointed his gun at officers Ernest Ortiz and Pedersen which prompted officers to shoot at him.
The critical incident unit said that officers provided medical attention to Galarza using first aid kits until Tucson firefighters arrived. Despite these efforts, Galarza was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
PRCIT said police later learned the gun in Galarza's possession was a Taurus G3 9mm semi-automatic and that it was recovered with ammunition in the magazine and one round in the chamber.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department and Marana Police Department will conduct a criminal investigation while the TPD Office of Professional Standards will conduct a separate, parallel investigation to examine the actions of police personnel.
When the investigation is completed, the PRCIT will present it to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for review.
What the footage shows:
The bodycam footage appears to show officers waiting for Galarza in a vehicle outside of Circle K when one of them quickly notices that he is walking out of the store. "He's out, just say when," one of the officers says. "Take him here," several others respond.
Police officers quickly run out of the vehicle and point their weapons at Galarza, yelling at him to get down. Galarza immediately begins running towards the back of the parking lot and the police dog can be seen chasing him down and tackling him to the ground. "Runner, runner, runner, runner," one officer yells.
Galarza appears to pull out his gun and points it toward the officers before Ortiz and Pedersen shoot at him several times, causing him to drop the gun.
In a slowed-down version of the footage, Galarza can be seen pulling the weapon out as the police dog brings him to the ground and then preparing to fire at one of the officers.
Reach the reporter Jeremy Yurow at Jyurow@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bodycam footage shows Tucson police officer fatally shoot suspect
