Holly MatkinPhoenix, AZ – A convicted felon armed with a gun was shot by Phoenix police after officers stumbled upon him assaulting his girlfriend out on the street, bodycam footage showed (video below).
The incident occurred at approximately 5:45 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2020, as Phoenix Police Officer Ryan O’Hayer and Officer Austin Martin were out on patrol in the area of Indian School Road and 19th Avenue, KNXV reported.
As they neared the intersection, they spotted a man assaulting a woman out near the street, Phoenix Police Department (PPD) spokesperson Sergeant Andy Williams said, according to The Arizona Republic.
Police later recovered security footage that showed the suspect grabbing the woman by her arm and pulling her down the street, according to the department.
The suspect was later identified as 35-year-old Brian Streeter, The Arizona Republic reported.
When the officers got out of their patrol vehicle to investigate the situation, Streeter suddenly started running away from them with an object held to the side of his head, bodycam footage showed.
“Hey! He’s got a gun! He’s got a gun!” one of the officers yelled out.
Streeter pointed the weapon in multiple directions as he was running, Sgt. Williams told The Arizona Republic.
The officers continued chasing after Streeter while repeatedly ordering him to drop the gun, bodycam footage showed.
Streeter ignored them but continued to walk away from them, refusing to stop or to drop his weapon.
As he neared a building lit up with neon lights, the officers warned him to stop or he would be shot, the video showed.
The armed felon spun around and faced them as he held his gun to his own head and continued walking away towards a busy street.
“Bad backdrop, bro,” one of the officers warned as a vehicle passed within the line of potential fire. “He’s walking back out to traffic. He’s got a gun to his head.”
Streeter yelled out his girlfriend’s name just before the officers fired their weapons at him, KNXV reported.
The suspect collapsed to the ground and officers quickly disarmed him, the PPD said in the video release.
They then applied a tourniquet to his leg while they waited for emergency medical personnel to arrive.
Streeter was transported to a local hospital with gunshot wounds to his leg and back, KNXV reported.
Officer Martin later wrote in his report that he discharged his weapon because “he was afraid the male was going to either shoot him or Officer O’Hayer, shoot at others driving by/put others in harm’s way.”
Streeter’s father, Brian Streeter Sr., claimed his son posed no threat and was struggling with mental health issues at the time of the incident, KNXV reported.
“This man has a gun to his own head. He never waved it at anyone,” the elder Streeter claimed. “He never tried to shoot anyone, and you shoot him in his back.”
Streeter’s girlfriend was uninjured during the incident, and claimed Streeter hadn’t assaulted her, despite the security video and the officers’ observations, KNXV reported.
Streeter’s father said there was “no justification” for the shooting, and that the officers were “basically rookies” who shouldn’t have been out on the streets without being partnered with officers with more experience, KNXV reported.
The officers, ages 23 and 29, have both served with PPD for two years, The Arizona Republic reported.
“I want them to just come out and say that they are wrong,” Streeter’s father demanded. “I mean, [the bodycam] clearly shows that you were dead wrong.
The officer-involved shooting remains under internal affairs and criminal investigation, KNXV reported.
Streeter is expected to be arrested on multiple felony charges once he is released from the hospital, according to The Arizona Republic.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. Warning – Graphic Content and Obscene Language:
