Phoenix police have released body camera footage of the fatal shooting incident involving one of their police officers who shot dead a drunk driver after the driver and another officer got involved in a struggle for a gun.
The Phoenix Police Department released the footage from the two officers. The first video shows one of the officers and the driver struggling to grab a gun, while the second shows an officer firing the shot that killed Matthew Anthony Sansotta, aged 36.
Watch the shocking video here.
The fatal incident happened on February 25 after the police department received reports of what appeared to be an intoxicated driver near Central Avenue and Bell Road, Phoenix, Arizona.
According to the police, a concerned citizen called in, saying they had seen a vehicle driving erratically on the road and that they had seen the driver take a sip from what looked like a liquor bottle while still driving.
The caller then followed the driver to a nearby apartment complex and waited for responding officers, who found the male driver in a reclining position inside the parked vehicle. They also spotted a bottle of alcohol and a rifle inside the vehicle.
Officers began questioning the man who they said appeared inebriated but cooperative. Then one officer went back to the patrol car while the other searched the driver and noticed a handgun in his side door pocket.
Apparently, the man made a sudden move to get the handgun and a struggle over the weapon ensued. At some point, the man got hold of the gun. The second officer then fired his gun once and the driver collapsed. The police attempted CPR, but to no avail, and the man was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is investigating the fatal shooting. According to the police, no officer was hurt in the chaos.
It was the third fatal shooting of suspects by police officers in Phoenix that week. The first two happened in Avondale on the same day, February 22, in the afternoon.
There have been nine shootings this year in Phoenix that involved police officers from the Phoenix Police Department, with officials saying that that was a result of an increase in violent crimes within the community.
