In Phoenix, Another Fatal Police Shooting, Over a Bottle of Pills

Out responding to a burglary call Tuesday night,
officers at an apartment complex in Phoenix were told by a resident
that there might be a drug deal going on in an SUV outside. Cops
ran the plates, and apparently found that the car was registered to
an address on a block that had an open noise complaint that night.
According to police, that complaint was canceled (the police
account,
as relayed by The Arizona Republic, drops the burglary
call from its narrative by this point) and cops went to the SUV to
question the people in the car.

The Republic reports:

The officer said the driver, later identified as [Rumaine]
Brisbon, got out and appeared to be removing something from the
rear of the SUV. The officer told Brisbon to show his hands, but
Brisbon stuffed his hands into his waistband, [police spokesperson
Trent] Crump said.

The officer drew his weapon and Brisbon ran toward nearby
apartments, Crump said. A short foot chase ensued.

“Witnesses indicated to us that the suspect was verbally
challenging to the officer,” Crump said.

Brisbon refused to comply with the officer’s commands to get on
the ground, and the two struggled once the officer caught up with
him, Crump said.

“During the struggle, Brisbon put his left hand in his pocket
and the officer grabbed onto the suspect’s hand, while repeatedly
telling the suspect to keep his hand in his pocket,” he said. “The
officer believed he felt the handle of a gun while holding the
suspect’s hand in his pocket.”

According to police the struggle then made its way into an
apartment after a resident happened to open the door. Eventually
the officer, unnamed but identified by witnesses as white, shot and
killed Brisbon. He was found to have been holding on to a bottle of
oxycodone pills, according to police.

The police department says it is running a fair investigation of
the incident, and is defending the enforcement priorities and
police practices that led to this fatal interaction. “Let’s be very
clear: The officer was doing what we expect him to do,” said Crump.
“Investigate crimes that neighbors are telling him are occurring in
that part of the complex.” Even voluntary transactions. 

Also appearing to miss the point on enforcement priorities was
Ann Hart, chair of the African American Police Advisory for South
Phoenix, who called for “a deeper dive into why police officers are
feeling compelled to shoot and kill as opposed to apprehend and
detain, arrest and jail” instead of why cops are directed into
interactions over
trifling infractions with sometimes very serious legal
penalties in the first place.