Suspect killed in officer-involved shooting in Phoenix

PHOENIX — A suspect was killed in an officer-involved shooting in Phoenix on Monday, police said.

Sgt. Vince Lewis said the man “produced what appeared to be a handgun” when officers found him walking along a canal bank and one officer fired his weapon.

No officers were injured in the shooting in the area of 40th and Van Buren streets, Lewis added. The suspect was later identified as 26-year-old Alejandro Hernandez.

The officer involved was only identified as a 40-year-old man with 11 years of service.

Lewis said Hernandez was walking with a sheet concealing his hands when police found him after a sibling called police to report a restraining order violation.

He said the man ignored officers’ commands, dropped the sheet to reveal what appeared to be a weapon and pointed it officers, and attempted to enter a construction vehicle to evade the officers.

Lewis said one officer fired his rifle and struck the man, who was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Police said a “replica rifle” was recovered at the scene.

The investigation is ongoing. None of the officers involved had body-worn cameras.

It was the sixth officer-involved shooting in Phoenix and 17th in the Valley so far in 2019. All of the suspects in the Phoenix police-involved shootings were killed.

It was also the first Phoenix police-involved shooting since the department released a highly anticipated report on last year’s record-high 44 shootings.

The independent report did not find major issues with the department’s training and policies but offered nine recommendations for improvement.

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