Phoenix police recommends charges against officers in October incident with shooting suspect
Dec 7, 2022, 5:07 PM | Updated: Dec 8, 2022, 4:37 pm
(Facebook Photo/Angel Zamora)
(Facebook Photo/Angel Zamora)
PHOENIX — Charges were recommended to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office against two Phoenix police officers accused of assaulting a shooting suspect during an October arrest, authorities said Wednesday.
Officer Eddie Becerra could face one count of aggravated assault – assault while restrained, one count of aggravated assault with a firearm and one count of misdemeanor assault in the Oct. 27 incident.
Officer Nicholas Beck could face one count of aggravated assault with a firearm and one count of misdemeanor assault.
The incident inside the QuikTrip at 59th Avenue and Buckeye Road gained attention after video of an officer kicking a handcuffed suspect was posted online.
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The video posted to Facebook (WARNING: graphic content) begins with the suspect, 38-year-old Harry Denman, on his knees and starting to lie down face first.
As he’s moving downward with his hands in view, both officers appear to stomp on the back of his head, driving his face into the ground, before cuffing Denman’s hands behind his back. One of the officers kicks him in the back when he rolls onto one side while cuffed.
During the altercation, the officers could be heard asking Denman where the gun was.
The video ends after the officers get Denman onto his feet and walk him out of frame, leaving behind his glasses, hat and splashes of blood on the tile floor.
After the incident, a store clerk told police that Denman put the gun on a counter after he came inside, according to a probable cause statement from his arrest.
The incident started when Denman approached the uniformed officers after they left the store and they told him they had to leave for a call.
When they were backing out in their patrol vehicle, Denman allegedly pulled a handgun from his waistband and fired once at the ground and once at the SUV.
Denman was booked into Maricopa County Jail on multiple counts, including aggravated assault of an officer and resisting arrest.
Becerra and Beck have been on administrative leave.
