The Apache Junction Police Department has recently publicized body camera footage involving the fatal shooting of Officer Gabriel Facio, providing a more detailed account of the distressing June incident. The footage, stemming from a situation that began as a routine traffic stop, reveals the intensity of the confrontation leading to the loss of an officer and the subsequent shooting of the suspect, Roger Nunez. As reported by FOX 10 Phoenix, the video demonstrates the officers’ attempts at de-escalation with less-lethal methods before the exchange of gunfire.
On that fateful June day, Officer Facio responded to a report featuring a man with a gun near Ironwood Drive and Elliot Road. The encounter escalated quickly, and Facio was critically injured after being shot in the face, and later succumbed to his injuries in hospital nearly a week afterward. In the released video, Nunez, after being requested to exit his vehicle, is shown retrieving a gun from the glove box and failing to comply with subsequent police commands to disarm, as stated by FOX 10 Phoenix.
Further insights come from the edited Critical Incident Briefing issued on Thursday, supplementing the transparency surrounding the case. Before the shooting, described by a 911 caller as a man, “He’s in a Tesla flashing his gun,” adding, “He’s flashing it while my son’s in the damn car.” This commentary, featured in audio recordings released by Apache Junction PD, lays bare the public’s fear that unfolded alongside the tragedy…