Phoenix police officer who fatally shot Ryan Whitaker won’t be charged

PHOENIX – Calling the case “a tragedy,” prosecutors said Friday they won’t criminally charge a Phoenix police officer who fatally shot a man after he answered his apartment door while carrying a gun.

Body camera video (WARNING: Graphic content) showed Ryan Whitaker, 40, backing away when Officer Jeff Cooke shot and him three times in the doorway of his Ahwatukee residence on May 21, 2020.

Cooke and Officer John Ferragamo were responding to a neighbor’s 911 call reporting a domestic dispute. The investigation found no signs of an altercation, only that Whitaker and his girlfriend were playing a loud videogame, according to a statement from Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel.

“With the benefit of frame-by-frame analysis and having time to review and re-review the videos, it appears that Mr. Whitaker was moving his gun to put it down and put his hands up,” the statement said.

Prosecutors concluded that Whitaker wasn’t a threat, but it was understandable why Cooke didn’t see it that way.

“That fact makes this case a tragedy, but it does not end the legal, criminal analysis because the law requires us to assess what Officer Cooke reasonably perceived and believed was occurring in the moment he made the decision to fire his weapon,” the statement said.

Whitaker’s family has called for both officers to be fired and for Cooke to be prosecuted for murder. In December, the Phoenix City Council approved a $3 million settlement with the family.

It’s the second high-profile 2020 incident in which Adel’s office didn’t pursue charges against law enforcement officers for fatal shootings.

In September, MCAO announced that Arizona state trooper who fatally shot Dion Johnson on Memorial Day will not face charges.

Arizona Department of Public Safety Trooper George Cervantes shot and killed Johnson on May 25 after a struggle on the Loop 101 near Tatum Boulevard in north Phoenix.

Earlier this month, MCAO declined to charge Phoenix Officer Steven Poulos with a crime after, in the presence of other officers, he threatened to shoot Mayor Kate Gallego.

In all three incidents, the prosecutors said they weren’t pursuing charges because convictions were unlikely.

In the Whitaker case, Adel said the Critical Incident Review Committee, which includes community members, was asked to review the evidence.

“They then made a recommendation to me regarding whether there was a reasonable likelihood of conviction for any crime,” the statement said.

“I then asked an outside expert on use of force issues to review the case and provide his opinions regarding the legality of the use of force in this incident. Then, considering all the evidence and recommendations, I made this decision.”

Follow @kstonezone