Footage shows Surprise police fatally shooting man during domestic dispute call

PHOENIX — Newly released body camera footage shows the moments leading up to when Surprise police fatally shot a man during a domestic dispute call in Surprise last month.

The incident occurred after officers arrived at a residence near Dysart and Waddell roads around 3 a.m. on March 10, the Surprise Police Department said in a critical incident briefing video released Friday.

They were responding to a call from a minor reporting a domestic verbal argument.

What did caller say when reporting domestic dispute?

“My parents are, uh, keep on arguing and they’re like, keeping me up all night and it’s just being annoying,” the caller said.

After the dispatcher asked if there were any weapons inside the house, the caller replied, “Uh, no, I don’t think so. I think they’re just, like, verbally arguing but like sometimes they do this and … it just gets out of control.”

When two officers arrived, they could hear screaming inside the residence.

As the officers approached the front door, a woman exited and said, “He’s trying to hit me.”

One officer stayed with the woman, while the other entered into the home.

What prompted the Surprise officer to shoot the man?

As the officer opened the door, 44-year-old Trinidad Ledesma could be seen walking from the living room to the kitchen area, out of the camera view.

“As the officer turned the corner, he encountered Ledesma facing him with a black shotgun in his right hand,” Sgt. Richard Hernandez said in the briefing video.

Ledesma could be heard in the video saying, “Don’t come in. Don’t come near, boss.”

According to Hernandez, Ledesma began to bring his shotgun up, in the officer’s direction, prompting the officer to fire his weapon at least seven times. Ledesma was pronounced dead at the scene.

The officer involved in the fatal shooting has six years of service experience, with less than one year with the Surprise Police Department.

An investigation into the shooting is being conducted by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

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