Phoenix officer who fatally shot wrong man in January won’t face charges

PHOENIX – Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said Thursday that her office will not prosecute the Phoenix police officer who erroneously shot and killed a homeowner in January after the man had disarmed a gunman.

Mitchell said the decision was based on her office’s standard of whether there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction.

The officer, identified by police as Jason Valenzuela, fatally shot 36-year-old Christian Diaz Rendon on Jan. 26 at a home near 73rd Drive and Lower Buckeye Road in west Phoenix.

Police Chief Matt Giordano said in February that one of his officers had wrongly killed Rendon.

Body-camera footage (Warning: Graphic Content) and home surveillance video released by the department showed Rendon was unarmed in the initial call before officers arrived.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety investigated the shooting and Phoenix police have said an internal administrative review would follow.

Rendon’s family previously called for Valenzuela to be criminally charged.

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