GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Glendale Police Department released body camera video showing a multi-hour SWAT standoff with an armed, barricaded suspect who was “very anti-police.”
The Aug. 12 incident began when a caller reported a violation of a protective order by one of her relatives. The order barred the suspect from entering the home and from possessing firearms and ammunition.
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“I have somebody in my house trying to kill me,” the caller can be heard saying on 911 call audio.
The caller had taken shelter in a vehicle nearby and was not inside the home when officers arrived. Officers realized they had previous contact with the suspect in the case and that he could be experiencing a mental health episode.
An officer can be heard reporting on the radio that they knew the suspect was large, “anti-police” and had been armed in previous incidents.
When SWAT arrived on scene, the suspect, now barricaded inside the home, began firing rifle rounds toward officers.
Negotiators contacted the suspect in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. The suspect also called 911, informing dispatchers that he was heavily armed.
“There’s cops at my front door. They’re tearing down my house,” the suspect said. When dispatchers asked if he was armed, he said, “for my protection, yes.”
Dispatchers asked him to put the gun down.
“No, I cannot,” the suspect said.
SWAT officers returned fire as the suspect continued firing shots from the home. The gunfire exchange continued until the suspect stopped shooting. The team then used a drone to enter the home, which confirmed the suspect had been killed in the shooting.
No officers were injured during the several-hour standoff. The incident remains under investigation.
