The Scottsdale Police Department released a critical incident briefing video containing snippets of body camera footage depicting a police shooting that killed a man and injured a K-9 named Rocco.
Sgt. Allison Sempsis, a department spokesperson, narrated the video saying officers responded to the area of McKellips and Scottsdale roads on March 7 around 10:30 a.m. to reports of a man threatening someone with a weapon.
Sempsis said a man called 911 to report someone had struck his car at the Hotel Bixby Scottsdale parking lot near Scottsdale and McKellips roads and later threatened him with a gun. Sempsis said the other driver, later identified as Joseph Santos, fled the area before officers arrived.
Surveillance footage at a gas station showed the man and Santos confronting each other, with Santos exiting his car and saying, “What’s up fool?”
Footage showed the man shouting back, “You hit the truck, bro!”
The man proceeded to tell Santos he struck his pickup truck as he walked around it while Santos followed him. Santos appeared to put a hand in his pocket shortly before the man ran into the gas station’s convenience store and told the clerk a man was outside with a gun, according to the video.
Footage showed Santos getting back into his car and driving toward the man before fleeing the area. Sempsis said the man later told police a man had hit his truck before pulling out a gun and was intoxicated.
Sempsis said an officer attempted to stop Santos near Granite Reef and McDowell roads, but Santos failed to stop. Sempsis added that an officer in an unmarked vehicle followed Santos who drove back in the direction of the hotel where the man whose truck had been hit was giving a statement to police.
Santos proceeded to park his car behind a patrol car before an officer in an unmarked vehicle boxed him in.
Body camera footage showed two officers pointing firearms at Santos, who was still inside his vehicle, with his hands raised. An officer can be heard ordering Santos to open the vehicle’s door while keeping his hands up.
The footage showed Santos telling officers to shoot him while they continued ordering him to keep his hands up. The officers began to back away from the SUV while they continued giving orders when Santos appeared to take off his shirt and throw it out the window.
An officer with a police K-9 unit appeared to lift Rocco up and through the open passenger side window shortly before another officer standing toward the front passenger side of the SUV fired multiple rounds that struck both Santos and the K-9.
Sempsis said officers immediately approached the SUV and pulled Santos out to perform life-saving measures. Santos was later pronounced dead at the scene. Mesa detectives responded to the scene to investigate the shooting as part of the East Valley Critical Incident Response team.
The officer who fired their weapons was a 13-year veteran of the department, police said.
Rocco was taken to a veterinary clinic, where he was listed in stable condition. The dog was released into the care of his handler, wearing a plastic cone collar but with no visible bandages or other signs of injury.
A Scottsdale police video, released on X, showed Rocco's discharge from the unidentified clinic on March 8, with the department wishing him a speedy recovery. The video didn't disclose his injuries.
Sempsis said Rocco had since returned to full active duty.
The Arizona Republic's Russ Wiles contributed to this story.
Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at perry.vandell@gannett.com or 480-341-9433. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @PerryVandell.
