Phoenix homeowner shot by police while holding burglar at gunpoint

[azredhawk44]

Don't have a web link yet, just heard it on KFYI radio during lunch.

Police responded to a 911 call reporting a burglary.

The wife ran out of the house when the police showed up, shouting vagueries like "He's got a gun!" but giving no specifics about who "he" might be and the situation with said gun.

2 officers enter the house and find a man coming out of the master bedroom with gun drawn and pointed at another man. One officer shoots homeowner.

Homeowner is going to be fine, he's not dead, and bad guy is now arrested, but communication is awfully important. So is a level head.

Also, might have been better to have the bad guy go out of the master bedroom and into the hallway/firing lane first.

[mvpel]

This is one of the many key points that is stressed in Massad Ayoob's Judicious Use of Deadly Force class. The police need as much information as you can possibly get to them in order to avoid mistakes like this in the heat of a very stressful moment.

[SGT-MILLER]

I'm glad to hear he wasn't killed, at least.

That's one of those "worst nightmare" scenarios, right there.

[astromanluca]

I'm glad he wasn't killed; also, it's comforting to know that this wasn't an issue of abuse of power or police brutality. Any officer in the same situation would have shot him if he was only told "he's got a gun."

[azredhawk44]

http://www.kfyi.com/pages/local_news...rticle=4262715

Story link above.

Police are working on sorting out details that led to the mix up.

PHOENIX (AP) _ Phoenix police say one of their officers shot and wounded a man who had been holding a burglar at gunpoint inside his home.

Sergeant Tommy Thompson says the incident happened late yesterday as officers responded to a flurry of calls in an east Phoenix neighborhood.

He says callers reported shots fired, a wounded man who acted strangely after being let into a good Samaritan's home and a break-in at a nearby home.

Arriving officers found a screaming woman who had fled the last home with two children while her partner confronted the intruder.

Thompson says officers went inside, ordered everyone out and saw the armed resident coming down a hallway. One officer shot the 35-year-old man several times, but he's expected to survive.

Officers then detained the intruder.

[Rich Miranda]

I bet the intruder/burglar is laughing his butt off in jail. Which is just sad.

[AnonymousOne]

I bet the intruder/burglar is laughing his butt off in jail. Which is just sad.

That's right up until he finds out his roommate is some very large dude looking for a girlfriend.

[Double Naught Spy]

Wow, it really does happen!

Actually, I knew it did, but had not seen a real report of it in years.

BUMMER.

[JustDreadful]

Quote:
I bet the intruder/burglar is laughing his butt off in jail. Which is just sad.
That's right up until he finds out his roommate is some very large dude looking for a girlfriend.

Hopefully there's some kind of "felony murder" type of thing he can be charged with, here, since he created a situation which resulted in a man being shot.

This is one of the many key points that is stressed in Massad Ayoob's Judicious Use of Deadly Force class. The police need as much information as you can possibly get to them in order to avoid mistakes like this in the heat of a very stressful moment.

+ 10,000.

[chris in va]

I bet/hope the cop feels like snot.

The guy got shot SEVERAL times and survived? Wow.

[tranks]

you would think the officers would figure out who is coming down the hallway first. give him some orders at gun point and see what he does.
even if it was the burglar, they would have time to shoot before the bad guy could aim at them.

i'm sure the homeowner wasn't pointing his gun at the officers.

the homeowner should probably announce what he is doing and whats going on after the officers shout to come out.

[JohnKSa]

The guy got shot SEVERAL times and survived? Wow.

Something like 80% of people wounded by a handgun bullet survive.

[pax]

Horrible story. Glad the good guy is not in the morgue and will recover.

Rough day for the cop, making a mistake literally anyone could & probably would make in the same circumstances.

pax

[fbrown333@suddenlink]

I blame the wife on that one. She should have told the officers that her husband/partner was in control and had the firearm not the intruder. JMO

[Double Naught Spy]

Don't be so quick to blame the wife. The woman screaming about the suspect having a gun was not the wife, but some other woman apparently at the residence. Plus, she may not have known who was or was not in control.

Also, here is a matter of what sounds like a goodly amount of flinch. It would appear that the homeowner was only shot in the abdomen and leg. So surviving "multiple" shots isn't so surprising.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/p...eshooting.html

Officer on leave after shooting armed homeowner
by Michael Ferraresi - Sept. 18, 2008 01:48 PM
The Arizona Republic
A Phoenix police officer is on paid administrative leave this week after he shot and hospitalized an armed homeowner who confronted an intruder at his home near 32nd Street and Thomas Road.

The 35-year-old homeowner is expected to survive wounds from the officer's shots to his abdomen and leg.

Angel Anastacio Canales, 27, is suspected of shooting out the front window of the victim's house in the 3100 block of East Flower Street moments before police arrived around 8 p.m. Wednesday. Police found Canales wounded in a back room, though the cause of his injuries are not clear.

Canales — who police believe was armed with a 9 mm handgun — could face charges of aggravated assault, armed burglary, misconduct involving weapons and possibly additional charges, according to Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson.

Thompson said Phoenix Officer Brian Lilly responded to the Flower Street home with a fellow officer and a sergeant who were initially called to the neighborhood after calls of shots fired and a residential burglary, both at separate addresses.

The three announced their presence and entered the house. Lilly shot the homeowner after he appeared with a gun in his hand, Thompson said. After the shooting, Canales was located and taken into custody.

Thompson added that there was no indication that responding officers had any conversation with the homeowners or Canales prior to the shooting. A woman who lives at the Flower Street house told officers, “He has a gun,” when they responded after hearing a scream and glass breaking.

As the woman fled with her children, the male homeowner went to get a gun to confront Canales, according to police.

Canales, who was reportedly wandering the neighborhood after police responded to initial calls of shots fired nearby in the 2900 block of East Mulberry Drive, is expected to survive minor injuries to his leg and will likely be released from the hospital today.

He and a female companion, who police have not yet located, stopped at a home in the 3100 block of East Mulberry Street moments prior to the intrusion on Flower Street — which is located a block south. The homeowners from the Mulberry Street incident let Canales inside briefly before they called police to report a residential burglary.

aid they heard about 10 gunshots around 8 p.m. Wednesday.

[2Old2Change]

It appears the wife is a blond. All kidding aside, she must have had her head screwed on backwards, to be yelling and screaming like she did. A little common sense would surely have prevailed in this situation.

[Double Naught Spy]

Read the post above yours. Note that the "homeowners" are the man and his wife. The woman who screamed was NOT his wife and had no knowledge of what the husband was doing. It was most definitely prudent to let the officers know that there was an intruder with a gun.

[BillCA]

Anytime you respond to a call like this, even if a resident comes out and indicates the resident/homeowner has a gun, when you find the parties, you don't know who they are. In the interval between being informed and finding the persons, the BG could have acquired the weapon.

The bottom line has always been police don't have a program to tell who the players are.

The best thing I can suggest is to communicate to the officers as soon as you know they are there. Calling out something like "I need help over here!" will bring them to you. Of course, never turn towards them with a gun in your hand and follow their directions.

[Saab1911]

This is why you should either shoot the perp multiple times or tell him to leave. Civilians just are not trained in apprehension of bad guys.

And yes, the wife is a moron.

[Don H]

Originally Posted by Saab1911

And yes, the wife is a moron.

And exactly what did the wife do that earns her the title of "moron"?

[S832]

An easy solution would have been to call the police and then leave the house, or lock themselves in a room. Its not their job or place to be holding robbers down until the police come, this is an unfortunate example of what could happen when someone tries to play cop.

[Saab1911]

Originally Posted by Don H

And exactly what did the wife do that earns her the title of "moron"?

She panicked. She didn't maintain any semblance of composure and she
got here husband shot.

[scoobydoo6906]

this is to S832, no it is not his job to play a cop, but it is their duty to protect themselves. what would have happened if they let him go? maybe he would have killed somebody after he broke in someplace else. or maybe gets trapped somewhere and takes a hostage. jeff copper (rip) talks about this sort of thing in a few of his books. just because the guy got shot doesn't mean he didn't do the right thing. the man is a hero sorry if you don't see it that way. the man got shot for protecting his family and the people in that area. you would call a cop a hero for doing the same thing so if you don't that man a hero your are doing him a major injustice.

[Don H]

Originally Posted by Saab1911

She panicked. She didn't maintain any semblance of composure and she got here husband shot.

there was no indication that responding officers had any conversation with the homeowners

A woman who lives at the Flower Street house told officers, “He has a gun,” when they responded

Wasn't the wife though, it was someone else at the address.

[dresden8]

How long until someone comes on to say he was shot with a glock 9mm and not a 1911?

Placement and calibre, yadda yadda yadda.