It all happened in the span of a few seconds.
Two officers with the Phoenix Police Department responding to 911 calls concerning an ongoing domestic dispute that neighbors opined may have escalated into a physical confrontation arrived at an inconspicuous beige apartment complex, not knowing the following interaction, however brief, would change their lives forever.
An officer knocked on the door and announced their presence as police. Forty-year-old Ryan Whitaker, armed with a gun, answered the door, setting an utterly predictable, yet nonetheless tragic set of events in motion.
Though Whitaker appeared to drop the gun willingly, his continued movement towards one of the officers was met with gunfire.
WATCH:
The Phoenix Police Department recently released the officers’ bodycam footage to provide the most complete, most objective analysis of the incident.
Criminal defense attorney and Townhall columnist Marina Medvin subsequently explained in a compelling Twitter thread why we should allow the police officers’ subjective reasoning to prevail over criticism from those safely removed from the literal life or death equation.
THREAD
Phoenix Arizona police shooting broken down: https://t.co/86BYCKG7Us
1) Police arrive after 2 domestic disturbance calls from neighbor
2) 2 officers arrive, knock, announce “Phoenix Police,” then back away from door
3) Officers do not have hands on their guns pic.twitter.com/CMGkkJnj0q
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
4) Man opens door holding gun in his right hand, in front of his body
5) First officer yells “whoa!” after seeing the gun and begins to draw his firearm, yelling “hands, hands”
6) Man then puts right hand behind his back, and now second officer sees firearm in man’s right hand pic.twitter.com/ugeggBik7G
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
7) Man kneels & keeps left hand up, but right hand is hidden / concealed in doorway
8) Second officer screams “put your hands down”
9) Second officer cannot see man’s right hand as the right hand disappears into doorway, but arm is pointed down, second officer aims & shoots pic.twitter.com/DB9U8va4Lz
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
10) After the man is shot, both hands come into view and he has no gun in hand at that point. The gun was found in the doorway later. pic.twitter.com/sjX2hnLIIm
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
11) From the moment the man steps out with firearm to the moment second officer fires: 3 seconds
12) From the moment the second officer sees firearm to the moment he fires: 1.5 seconds
13) Second officer claims he shot in order to save first officer from man holding gun.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
14) “The `reasonableness’ of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.” Graham v. Connor – SCOTUS 1989
15) Arizona “use of force in crime prevention” jury instruction: pic.twitter.com/x90eliPVcn
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
16) Second officer told his command that he was afraid the man with the gun was about to shoot first officer.
17) The facts, as they appeared to him at the time, were that after announcing themselves as police, a man opened the door and came at them with a gun.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
18) As first officer drew his weapon, the man concealed his gun behind his back, where the second officer could see it.
19) Then, without being told to do so, the man bent down and into an obscured doorway, where the officers could not see what he was doing with his hands.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
20) Not being able to see what the man was reaching for, the man acting on his own accord, considering the gun in the man’s hand, the man looking at the first officer, the second officer shot his service weapon thinking this man is about to shoot his partner.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
21) This was literally a split-second decision at the moment it was made. The second officer, presumably, thought that if he hesitated, the first officer would be dead.
22) Facts working against a justified shooting: the man had his hands down as the officer commanded.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
23) However, the man started standing back up again and the second officer could not see that the hand was empty.
24) The man was not verbally communicating with the officers, did not freeze, and was instead moving the hand that had the firearm in it.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
25) Domestic violence calls are some of the most dangerous for officers. According to FBI data, for the period between 1980 and 2006, for example, a total of 113,236 officers were assaulted on domestic calls, and 160 officers died as a result. DV calls are notoriously dangerous.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
26) The second officer certainly didn’t come to the call with a gun in hand, but upon presentation of the threat and the particular behavior he witnessed, he did what he thought he had to do to save his partner.
27) Monday morning quarterback would have always waited to shoot.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
28) But when each tenth of a second matters, and when an officer is deciding between waiting for the man to shoot, or show what he’s doing with his hands, or to reach for new weapons, the officer has to decide what to do. And this officer chose to save his partner’s life.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
29) The standard by which we judge the officer isn’t what we now know after an investigation, that the man dropped his firearm, but by what the officer knew at the time: that the firearm was in the man’s hand and now he cannot see what the man is doing with his hand.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
30) Could the officer have given better instructions? Yes. Unequivocally.
31) Could the officer have waited to see what the man was doing? Yes. But would the officer have risked his partner’s life in waiting? Yes. Unequivocally.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
32) With great power comes great responsibility. When you answer the police knocking on your door with a firearm in hand, you assume a lethal risk. You immediately become a lethal threat and should expect the officers to arm themselves with lethal weapons in response to you.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
33) How you act upon police seeing you with a gun in hand will be the difference between life and death. This man, after an ex post facto review, appears to have been reaching to drop his weapon. But the officers could not see that. And that’s the tragedy of this incident.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
34) Some argue that maybe the man did not hear the police officers announce themselves.
But he still came out with the gun in hand. He didn’t drop it when he saw the officer, he proceeded out holding the gun. And, he didn’t communicate. He acted recklessly with a deadly weapon.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
35) The man appears to have tried to fix the situation by dropping the gun in the doorway. Or maybe the gun fell out of his hand when he was shot. It’s not possible to tell from the video. The former is more plausible as it explains why he bent down in the first place.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
36) But going back to the standard by which we judge: it’s not from the perspective of the armed man, or from us playing Monday morning quarterback. We must judge from the officer’s perspective, “to the extent he reasonably believed” he was preventing an imminent crime. pic.twitter.com/yk4QqqksNX
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
37) Based on what we know right now (and we must always be open to the possibility that new evidence, or reconsideration of the same evidence, might yield a different conclusion): I would find this officer not guilty.
More than that, I would not charge him with a crime.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
38) Someone asked why the officers moved away from the door after knocking. It’s a tactical, trained move, they don’t know what will be coming through that door. Backing away will give them space, an opportunity, to respond to a threat. Like a man with a gun. @pvtjokerus can add.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
39) The argument that the man was afraid and armed himself fails. Evidence of fear would show him asking who is at the door without opening it, hesitating to come out, peeping first, opening slowly, etc. He came out fast and with confidence, offensive posture, not defensive.
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) August 9, 2020
The analysis is cogent; the observations, astute. But what do you think? Were the officer’s actions justified? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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Michael Brigham
Michael Brigham has written for American Action News since the summer of 2019. His areas of expertise include foreign affairs, government, and politics, but regardless of the subject matter, he has a nose and an insatiable appetite for news. In his free time, he enjoys reading nonfiction, watching a mix of comedies and true crime documentaries, and spending time away from the swamp hiking in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
Cops did everything by the book,only drew weapons upon seeing perps weapon,judging by what I read and could see in the pictures,Cops were justified in actions they took
If I was an officer and a man came at me with a gun he’d be shot.
First thing we need to know is Democraps AKA LIBERAL IDIOTS won’t be swayed by TRUTH and FACT. So no matter how logical and CORRECT anyone shows the police action to be the right action the Democraps won’t believe it. These is because the MASSIVE amounts of WORTHLESS FECAL MATTED where their Brains should be won’t and CAN’T handle TRUTH or FACT. So no matter how logical, FACTUAL, and TRUTHFUL anyone is Democraps which means LIBERAL will not accept what the FACTS are.
When facing some one with a gun, it comes down to who is the fastest to react, rules of the old west. Stay alive!
Good breakdown but you left out one important point…the officer that fired first was also concerned about his own life, not just that of his fellow officer. They were both there and neither knew who this perp would hit first if he suddenly pulled up and started firing.
Those officer’s did everything like they were trained to do during their academy training. If they hadn’t done what they did, 1 of those officer’s could have been killed or possibly both could have been killed. They should not be ashamed of their actions.
Continue protecting and serving your community and country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do not fault the police officers. A lot of things went wrong after the guy opened that door. However, look at this generically from the perspective of the resident. ANYONE can say they are the police. How should a citizen respond without endangering their life to someone who says they are the police, but aren’t? What would be the recommended way to respond, so neither the citizen or officers life is put into danger? Having such a protocol and publicizing it regularly might help avoid a tragedy such as this in the future.
1st. Before opening your door check who is knocking. 2nd. if they claim to be police have them show their ID to the peep hole. If no peep hole, improvise! 3rd. If police then put your gun down.4th, REMEMBER if no search warrant they are unable to enter your domain unless invited. Finally. If they are not law enforcement, go out your backdoor or window and come around and place well aimed center mass shots to the individuals. Once the threat is diminished, place one shot to the head of each perp! It’s TIME to get REAL America. It’s time to regain control of our nation.
In this case, a reported domestic assault, the police are most definitely able to legally enter to check on the welfare of the other party, to determine if a physical assault actually occurred, and establish the probable cause (if any) to arrest one or both of the people involved. AND, if minors are present to ensure their welfare.
NEVER ANSWER THE DOOR when someone knocks and claims to be the police.
Man has a legal right to answer his door with a gun in hand for his safety and protection. Pity the pigs weren’t shot.
suicidal idiot!
NEVER ANSWER YOUR DOOR when somone knocks and claims to be the police. That is how you get shot. IF they break in, you have a perfect right to drop them as they enter. High brass, 12ga, OO buck shot, just below the belt buckle will do nicely. Remember that cops all wear body armor now, so you need to shoot where the armor is not.
Really? If I were you I’d hope I may never need these “pigs” if my life was in danger jackass!
Pretty simple, refuse to follow police instructions,,
you deserve to die…..
Common sense people! If you out yourself in that situation! Expect to be shot. Good move on the cops part!
To Me (Strong Republican) This Looks Like the Police Murdered the Man.
Bad things are supposed to happen to stupid people.
Justifiable Use of Force.
Justified shoot.
Fight with wife.
Drunk
Holding gun in effort to be in control.
Answer door with gun in hand.
Get killed.
Predictable.
Want to be a cop and risk your life dealing with drunk idiots?
With the current wave of assaults and murders of law enforcement officers what would YOU be thinking if you were an officer responding to a call and were faced by a subject with a weapon?
Man that was fast. Truly I would have been dead if I were the cop. Just not enough time to assess the danger. What idiot confronts LEOs with a gun in hand? Just dumb. I have watched videos of other CCL people who acted to protect others. And when the cops arrive, they ALL put the gun on the ground and step back.
Avoid the appearance of evil.