A man in Arizona was shot and killed by police in August after he aimed a pistol at a police dog’s head, according to body camera video.
According to The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Police Department SWAT officers were keeping an eye on Francisco Javier Galarza, 49, in connection with two felony arrest warrants that were out for home invasion and bank robbery.
In the footage, Galarza is seen leaving a convenience shop. Police officers then approach him and ask him to kneel down so they may take him into custody.
When Galarza begins to flee while pulling out a revolver, a police dog chases after him and stumbles him.
According to the Arizona Daily Star, Officer Barrie Pedersen, a 17-year TPD veteran, unleashed the K-9 dog Kiro.
Before the cops shot Galarza, he is seen falling to the ground and aiming the pistol towards the dog’s head.
The publication said that Pedersen and Officer Ernest Ortiz, a 15-year veteran of the TPD, both fired their rifles after Galarza, according to police, brandished a gun at the cops.
Police said that Galarza was declared deceased at the scene when emergency personnel arrived.
According to a statement sent to Insider by the Tucson Police Department, “this event was linked to an officer-involved shooting.”
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department will conduct the investigation, according to the department, which said that it does not conduct its own criminal investigations.
This is the only information we can offer at this time due to the internal investigation, which is still open and continuing, according to the statement.