Yuma Police release body-cam video after man armed with knife being shot by officers

The Yuma Police Department released edited body camera video that shows when police opened fire on a 29-year-old man armed with a knife earlier this year.

Yuma Police was dispatched to the neighborhood of Magnolia Avenue on April 12, 2024, after neighbors called the police, saying a neighbor with a knife was making threats.

The 911 caller said the neighbor had a mental illness and explained that police had dealt with him before. Newly obtained body camera video shows the moments that led up to the shooting.

From the officer’s body-cam footage, you can see police repeatedly asking him to drop his knife.

“Look, we just want to talk to you, man. Dude, put the knife down. Steve, we’re just trying to figure out what happened,” said one officer.

He ignores them and keeps walking away. It’s at that point when one officer pulls his taser and fires it, but the suspect keeps walking away and heads down the canal.

When he turns back into the neighborhood, police close in on him, and they try to hit him again with the taser. Seconds later, an officer fires his pistol, and the suspect is shot several times.

Police Chief Thomas Garrity said the suspect was going for a knife and said they recovered two bladed weapons at the scene.

“As part of the investigation, we do know there were 12 shots total fired,” said Garrity.

We talked to the 29-year-old suspect’s family, who said police fired too many shots.

An eyewitness who saw the whole thing go down stayed firm on her stance after watching the video released by police.

“I still think he shouldn’t have been shot so many times. He had a kitchen knife in his hand, he didn’t have a gun,” said Marie Hernandez.

When the police chief was asked if officers were fired excessively, he said the county attorney should decide.

“My opinion now doesn’t matter, that’s up to the attorney and the investigation,” Garrity said. “I think the video shows for itself what the officers did.”

The chief said the suspect had previous run-ins with police, but they weren’t aware of his mental state at the time. However, others say that isn’t so.

The same reporting party who called 911 also reportedly told one of the officers at the scene that the suspect struggled with mental illness.

The suspect has not been charged. His family said he is out of the hospital and recovering in rehab.