Peoria police fatally shoot man who fled scene of domestic violence incident

PHOENIX – Peoria police shot and killed a suspect after he fled the scene of a domestic violence incident Sunday night, authorities said.

Jerry Lott, 33, led officers to believe he had a gun, but no weapons were found after the shooting, the Peoria Police Department said Monday.

Lott had sped off in a vehicle after officers arrived at a home near 99th Avenue and Beardsley Road around 9:20 p.m. in response to a domestic violence call.

He argued with the woman and damaged items in the residence before fleeing, police said.

An officer on a unrelated call saw the vehicle and tried to stop it because the driver appeared impaired. The vehicle hit a curb and kept going until stopping with a flat tire near 95th Avenue and Pinnacle Peak Road, about 1½ miles from the scene of the original call.

Officers parked their vehicles to box in the suspect, who got out of his vehicle and started shouting at them.

@PeoriaPoliceAZ Involved in Shooting of Domestic Violence Suspect in area of Williams Road/95th Avenue. No Officers were injured and the suspect died from his injuries on scene. This is being investigated by the West Valley Investigative Response Team. https://t.co/5pWAgEPsQ6 pic.twitter.com/oyf5jFX3UW

— Peoria Police (AZ) (@PeoriaPoliceAZ) March 7, 2022

“The subject started yelling something about ‘I have a gun, you’re going to have to kill me,’ things such as that. At that point that’s when the officer-involved shooting occurred,” a Sgt. Brandon Sheffert said in a video posted to social media.

According to a police press release, Lott “reached into the vehicle and emerged from the vehicle in a manner that led officers to believe that he was armed” before they shot him.

Lott was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Buckeye Police Department, as part of the West Valley Investigative Response Team, is investigating the shooting. The officers involved in the incident activated their body-worn cameras, according to the press release.

It was the 11th shooting by law enforcement in metro Phoenix this year, the first by Peoria Police, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM tracking.

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