The Pima County Regional Incidents Team released edited snippets of body camera footage on Thursday depicting the Tucson police shooting that occurred on February 14.
Tucson officers responded to the Colbrod and 29th Street areas after receiving a 911 call from a mental health professional around 1:31 a.m., according to a briefing of the significant incident shared by the agency. bottom. .
A mental health professional spent about 30 minutes on the phone with the man before contacting police.
Officers arrived in the area and found a man walking around with a gun. The briefing said a Tucson police sergeant “highly trained in crisis intervention and hostage negotiation” called the man on his cell phone and was able to de-escalate.
The sergeant called him repeatedly over the course of 15 minutes and ordered the man to put his gun down and stay still. According to briefings, the men ignored her orders and began moving south.
Another officer to the west of him shot him once with a rifle as cars passed by a man who was moving toward the neighborhood. Officers immediately administered first aid to the man, who was later taken to hospital, but his injuries were not life-threatening, according to the briefing.
Body camera footage shows at least one officer firing at the blurred individual. An officer told the sergeant, “OK, he’s down. He’s put the gun down.”
Footage shows multiple officers approaching the man, later identified as 29-year-old Jack Taylor, and retrieving a handgun and bullet casings. Investigators believe it was from a gunshot heard on the phone by a mental health professional.
The briefing did not specify whether Taylor is in prison or whether he will face criminal charges.
The briefing identified the officer who fired the rifle as Barry Pederson, an 18-year veteran in the department.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the Oro Valley Police Department are conducting criminal investigations into the shooting, and the Tucson Police Department is conducting an administrative investigation to determine whether the shooting violated police policy.
Services for Arizonans at risk include:
- Dial 2-1-1 to arrive at 211 Arizona.
- Solari Crisis & Human Services offers a statewide, 24/7 toll-free crisis response phone number – dial 844-534-HOPE (4673). Help is also available 24/7 by texting ‘hope’ to 4HOPE (4673).
- Dial 988 to contact the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Help is available in English and Spanish. Free and confidential for those in distress who need prevention or crisis resources for themselves or loved ones.
- The Crisis Line at La Frontera Empact Suicide Prevention Center serves Maricopa and Pinal Counties 24/7 at 480-784-1500.
- Teen Lifeline The 24/7 Crisis Line serves teens at 602-248-8336 in Maricopa County and 1-800-248-8336 statewide.
- The Trevor Project Lifeline serves LGBTQ youth at 866-488-7386.
