Suspect wielding metal forceps dies after being shot by Glendale police

PHOENIX – The man shot by police outside a Glendale Taco Bell on Monday evening has died, authorities said Tuesday.

Matthew Rasmussen, 31, was threatening officers with a foot-long tweezer-like surgical tool when he was shot in a parking lot at Olive and 43rd avenues, according to the Glendale Police Department.

Police said they responded around 5:15 p.m. to a 911 call about a man with a rag or blanket covering his head and swinging a metal object.

The suspect refused to communicate with officers or obey instructions, police said.

When officers tried to grab Rasmussen, he pulled out 12-inch metal forceps and began to swing the tool at them in a stabbing motion, police said.

One of the officers considered Rasmussen’s behavior an immediate threat of bodily harm and shot him multiple times, police said. The officer was identified only as a white male in his late 20s.

Paramedics took him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The investigation is ongoing.

Police released audio of the 911 call made by a security guard at the business complex adjacent to the Taco Bell.

It was the 31st shooting involving law enforcement in the Valley this year, the third involving the Glendale Police Department, according to statistics compiled by KTAR News 92.3 FM.

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