Family of Christian Diaz Rendon demands charges against Phoenix police officer

The family of a man who was wrongly shot and killed by a Phoenix police officer is speaking out after the county attorney said the officer won’t be criminally charged.

Christian Diaz Rendon was killed by Phoenix police officer Jason Valenzuela after Rendon’s family called 911 to report a man firing a gun into their home.

The suspect from the 911 call, Edgar Garcia, faces a felony murder charge in Rendon’s death, along with 10 other charges stemming from the incident.

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell previously explained the charge is possible because Arizona law allows someone to face a murder charge if someone else dies during a dangerous felony.

When Rendon was shot, he had subdued Garcia and pinned him to the ground at the front door of his home.

David Chami, an attorney for Rendon’s family, argued Officer Valenzuela should have faced a negligent homicide charge instead.

“Officer Valenzuela is not a civilian, so the standard of care for him is even higher,” Chami said. “He is specially trained to assess situations and to take due care before he uses deadly force. He failed to meet that standard. In fact, he failed it miserably.”

Statements from Rendon’s family

Rendon’s partner, Mariana Gonzalez, gave a statement in Spanish that Chami then translated into English.

She urged the county attorney to charge Officer Valenzuela, not the original suspect, Edgar Garcia, in her partner’s death.

“Officer Jason Valenzuela … fired his weapon from the middle of the street toward our home with the intention of killing Christian without even knowing who that person was,” Gonzalez said. “He was my best friend, my partner. (Officer Valenzuela) killed him instantly in front of his family.”

Rendon’s stepson, Jarvis Rosas, spoke with reporters after the news conference, praising the man he said came into his life and helped his family.

“I come from a family of 12 and he really helped out a lot,” Rosas remembered. “He stepped up when there was nobody to take care of us. When my mom was struggling, he came into our lives and he made sure that we were fed.”

He called on the county attorney to bring his family justice.

“We all sleep together in the living room, downstairs all together because we’re afraid to be by ourselves now,” said Rosas.

What did Mitchell say about her decision?

Mitchell said she decided not to charge Valenzuela because there was not a “reasonable likelihood of conviction,” a standard her office has set for seeking prosecution.

She also laid out a timeline of what she referred to as a hectic scene with conflicting information.

Mitchell noted the officer was told by dispatch, about five seconds before he shot Rendon, that the suspect they were looking for was down.

Mitchell said she took that into consideration.

“Because this is happening simultaneously with a lot of yelling and there’s also loud music blaring from the suspect’s pickup truck, some of what is being told to officers is difficult to clearly make out without the benefit of replaying it,” Mitchell said.

She called Rendon’s actions the night of his death heroic.

At the family’s news conference, Chami called this an excuse from Mitchell.

“It was only a split-second decision because he made it a split-second decision,” Chami said.

Looking ahead

Chami said the family is pursuing a civil lawsuit.

A $25 million notice of claim was filed against the City of Phoenix in February, and Rendon’s relatives also want to see change within the Phoenix Police Department.

The family has also reached out to Attorney General Kris Mayes, hoping for intervention.

Overall, the family argued Mitchell is choosing politics and police relationships over pursuing justice.

“Instead of holding this officer responsible for his actions, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell has decided to protect the officer instead of seeking justice for the victims,” Gonzalez said.

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