Suspect who hid in recycling bin before shooting at Phoenix police is dead

PHOENIX – A man who shot at police officers during a standoff in south Phoenix early Wednesday is dead, police said.

An officer who was patrolling in a neighborhood near 16th Avenue and Atlanta Street saw a red truck speeding around 12:35 a.m., according to the Phoenix Police Department.

When the officer tried to make a traffic stop, the suspect got out of the vehicle while it was still moving, police said. The officer stopped the vehicle before it could hit a nearby house.

After that, the officer set up a perimeter and police dogs started searching the neighborhood. The suspect was found in a large recycling bin in the side of a residence.

The man did not comply with officers’ commands, so they used less lethal methods, such as pepper balls and a 40 mm less-lethal launcher, police said.

During negotiations, the man started firing at police with a handgun, police said. Officers fired back and the man died, police said. The deceased was identified later as 31-year-old Dominic Gracia.

No police officers were injured.

The shooting happened the morning after the Phoenix Police Department released a new use of force policy that says officers “shall use only the force that is objectively reasonable, necessary and proportional to effectively and safely resolve an incident.”

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