Man fatally shot by Coconino County deputy near Flagstaff Mall
A man who Flagstaff police say threatened officers with a screwdriver died after being shot by a Coconino County deputy on Wednesday morning near the Flagstaff Mall.
About 5:30 a.m., officers responded to the area of U.S. 89 and Cummings Street after receiving reports of a man, later identified as 51-year-old Donald Henry of Missouri, breaking a window at a gas station and stealing from the store, according to Flagstaff police. Around the same time, the Coconino County Sheriff's Office received a call about a person threatening to stab people with a knife in a nearby business.
Sgt. Odis Brockman said the reports were about the same person.
Officers contacted Henry, who they say had a screwdriver and "advanced towards the officer in a threatening manner," police said in a news release. When the officer took out his stun gun, Henry ran away.
Deputies with the Sheriff's Office arrived at the area and told the man to stop and drop the screwdriver. Police said the man didn't follow the commands and ran across the road.
Law enforcement officers surrounded Henry and said he was following orders. Then Henry charged toward a deputy with a screwdriver and the deputy shot him, according to police.
An officer also used a stun gun at the same time as the deputy was shooting his weapon, the police news release said.
"The Deputy ultimately had to resort to deadly force to stop the threat as he was being charged," the news release said.
Henry was pronounced dead at the scene.
Flagstaff police released body-camera footage on Wednesday afternoon from two Coconino County sheriff's deputies identified only as "McCabe" and "Harvey" that depicted their standoff with Henry moments before his death. A Flagstaff police officer identified as "Patton" was also present during the incident.
The deputies can be heard in the video telling Henry to get on the ground as they point their guns at him. Footage shows Henry pausing and then beginning to run away before turning around and approaching Harvey, who can be heard yelling at Henry to stop moments before shooting him four times.
McCabe does not appear to have fired any shots at Henry.
The shooting was being investigated by the Northern AZ Officer Involved Shooting Team. Anyone with information on the incident can call the Flagstaff Police Department at 928-774-1414 or call Silent Witness at 928-774-6111.
Cummings Street was closed indefinitely and southbound U.S. 89 was restricted to two lanes, Flagstaff police said in a Facebook post. People could access the Mobile Haven neighborhood and Summit High School through Lynch Drive.
Reach breaking news reporter Angela Cordoba Perez at Angela.CordobaPerez@Gannett.com or on Twitter @AngelaCordobaP.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man fatally shot by Coconino County deputy near Flagstaff Mall
