Holly MatkinDolan Springs, AZ – Bodycam captured the moment when a domestic violence suspect attacked a Mohave County sheriff’s deputy, leading to an officer-involved shooting (video below).
The incident occurred outside a home located in the 6900-block of Stirrup Circle at approximately 4:24 a.m. on March 7, according to The Miner.
Mohave County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Deputy Kyle Bridgman responded to the scene and made contact with 37-year-old Davie Kuihana Ahuna, who had reportedly kicked down the door of a residence, bodycam footage showed.
When Ahuna asked Deputy Bridgman why he was being arrested, the deputy explained he was being charged with “criminal damage for domestic violence.”
“All I did was kick the door down,” Ahuna argued.
“You kicked down a door,” the deputy agreed as he began trying to place the suspect in handcuffs. “That’s criminal damage.”
“Nah, you can’t arrest me for that,” Ahuna claimed.
The suspect started to pull away, at which point Deputy Bridgman warned him to stop.
“Don’t. Don’t, Davie,” he said.
“I will, bro,” the suspect responded. “Let me go. I’m not doin’ nothing.”
The deputy continued trying to put Ahuna in handcuffs as the suspect grew increasingly noncompliant, bodycam footage showed.
“I promise I will [expletive] tase you,” Deputy Bridgman warned at one point.
The encounter erupted into a physical altercation moments later, the video showed.
Much of the bodycam footage was obscured during the fight.
Deputy Bridgman later said Ahuna bashed him in the head with a board during the brawl, KTVK reported.
The deputy ordered Ahuna to stop resisting, but the suspect continued to fight and demanded Deputy Bridgman let him go, the video showed.
A shot rang out a second later.
“Shots fired!” the deputy said over the radio, backing away from the suspect.
Ahuna was lying on the ground at the time, the video showed.
“You shot me,” the suspect told him.
“I’ll shoot you again [if] you get up,” Deputy Bridgman responded. “Do not move.”
Ahuna ignored the deputy’s repeated commands to put his hands behind his back.
“You shot me in the head,” he told Deputy Bridgman at one point.
The deputy notified dispatch the suspect had been shot once.
“He’s still noncompliant. I’m bleeding pretty bad,” Deputy Bridgman added. “Step everybody up…I’m bleeding from the head.”
The deputy tried to convince Ahuna to surrender so medial personnel could help him.
“I want medical for you, Davie,” he said. “I don’t want this. Just put your hands behind your back and cuff up, dude. I’ll get medical to come in and take care of you.”
Ahuna said he wouldn’t put on handcuffs until he knew medical personnel had arrived. He also refused the deputy’s efforts to toss him medical supplies, the video showed.
The suspect then began questioning whether or not Deputy Bridgman was truly a law enforcement officer.
“Yeah, I’m a real cop,” the deputy confirmed. “I’m wearing a freaking uniform. There’s a police car out front. You’d have seen it already if you would’ve just cuffed up.”
Deputy Bridgman repeatedly begged the suspect to put on the handcuffs and to let him help render first aid.
“I want to save your life, dude,” he told the suspect. “I don’t want you to die, Davie.”
“I don’t want your help,” Ahuna retorted.
He repeatedly urged Ahuna to use the bandages he had tossed to him, but he refused.
Deputy Bridgman pointed out that he knew the suspect from his last jail stint.
“You don’t remember me?” he asked. “I worked in the pods where you were at. Don’t play me. We never had issues.”
The bodycam footage ended prior to the other deputies’ arrival.
The MCSO later said they had to use “less-lethal means” to take Ahuna into custody, KTVK reported.
Police said Ahuna “struck the deputy multiple times in the head and face with his fists and blunt objects” during the attack, according to The Arizona Republic.
The suspect was transported to a hospital for treatment prior to being booked into jail for aggravated assault on a peace officer, KTVK reported.
Deputy Bridgman was also treated for his injuries at a local hospital and released to recover at home.
The five-year MCSO has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the officer-involved shooting investigation, as per protocol, according to The Arizona Republic.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. Warning – Graphic Content:
