Phoenix Police Department Release Critical Incident Briefing On Officer-Involved Shooting Near 43rd Avenue And Cactus Road

Phoenix AZ

23 February, 2021

5:46 AM

Description

Press release from the City of Phoenix: February 22, 2021 WARNING: The attached video may contain strong language as well as graphic images which may be disturbing to some people. Viewer discretion is advised. The Phoenix Police Department released a Critical Incident Briefing (CIB) video that includes audio, visuals and information related to an officer-involved shooting (OIS) which occurred on February 6, 2021 in the area of 43rd Avenue and Cactus Road. This incident started just before noon when 911 received a call from a woman who said there was an unknown man in her backyard, and that he was armed. The suspect was later identified as 29-year-old Anthony Greco. While the responding officers were on their way, they learned Greco was now inside of the home with the victim. Once the officers were on scene, they were able to have the woman exit the home through a window to safety. After the victim was out of the home, the officers began working to establish communication with Greco, who was still inside of the home. Two officers positioned themselves to the rear of the home, behind the block wall around the backyard. As more officers were arriving, Greco exited the rear arcadia door into the backyard. An officer could see Greco was still armed with a handgun, so he gave Greco commands to drop the gun. Greco refused, walked towards the officer and raised the firearm. On the body worn camera Greco can be heard saying "shoot me" just before the officer fired one round from his rifle, striking Greco. After the shooting, officers moved to the backyard to contact Greco. The officers could not see the gun, which was positioned under Greco who was lying face down. Due to the proximity of Greco to his gun, the officers spent several minutes attempting to have Greco move away from it, using commands and less lethal bean bag rounds. As the officers moved in closer, they utilized two more bean bag rounds so that they can safely approach. When they reached Greco, they moved him away from his gun, and provided first aid. Greco was pronounced deceased on scene by the Phoenix Fire Department. Officers later learned that two days prior to this incident, Greco kidnapped one of his family members at gunpoint and stole their vehicle and gun. The stolen vehicle, which Greco arrived in, was found parked in front of the victim's residence. And the stolen gun which was used by Greco was recovered next to him. There was one officer involved in the shooting. He is assigned to the Cactus Park Precinct, 39-years-old, and has three years of service with the Phoenix Police Department. There were no injuries to officers or other community members. Conclusions about whether the actions of the officers are consistent with department policy and the law will not be made until all facts are known and the investigation is complete. An internal investigation by the Professional Standard Bureau is currently underway, in addition to a criminal investigation. Once the criminal investigation is complete it will then be reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. Public records law required redaction of certain personal identifying information before video is released publicly. This is why you may see some parts of Body Worn Camera (BWC) blurred or covered with a black box. Redacted video is released to local media in conjunction with the release of this Critical Incident Briefing for independent review and publication. Complete, unedited versions of the BWC are released to attorneys and the courts as evidence in a criminal case. This press release was produced by the City of Phoenix. The views expressed here are the author's own.