The Phoenix Police Department has released an officer’s body cam footage showing a Phoenix police officer shooting and killing a drunk driver after the driver and another officer got into a tussle over a handgun.
The Phoenix police made the video public. In the first video, an officer and the driver try to get a gun. In the second video, a police officer shoots Matthew Anthony Sansotta, 36, in the head, killing him.
The tragic incident unfolded on February 25, when police in Phoenix, Arizona heard from a witness that a driver near Central Avenue and Bell Road had been drinking.
A worried person called the police to say that they saw a car driving erratically and the driver taking what looked like a sip from a bottle of alcohol while driving.
The caller then followed the driver to an apartment complex nearby, where he waited for police to arrive. When the police got there, they saw a man asleep in his car. Inside the car, they discovered a weapon and a bottle of liquor.
Officers said that the man seemed to be drunk, but when they started asking him questions, he was willing to answer them. The officer went back to the patrol car while the other officer searched the driver and found the gun in the side door pocket of the vehicle.
A fight broke out after the man seemed to move quickly to grab his gun. He was able to get his hands on the gun, but he collapsed after the second officer fired one shot. The officers attempted CPR, but they couldn’t save the man and he was declared dead at a nearby hospital.
The fatal shooting is being looked into by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. No police officers were hurt, according to the police.
It was the third time in a week that a suspect had been shot and killed by police in Phoenix. The first two incidents occurred on the same day, February 22, in the afternoon.
This year, nine people have been shot by the Phoenix Police Department. The reason, according to the officials, is that there have been more violent crimes in the area.