Caution: The video contains images that some viewers may find disturbing

A bystander’s video of a stalemate between the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office and a suspected car thieve that took place in Arizona on January 14, and which resulted in the shooting death of 40-year old Manuel Longoria, is raising some serious questions about the police department’s account of the incident.

Longoria had previously led the cops on an almost hour-long chase in Eloy, reportedly ramming into a patrol car before police popped the tires and immobilized the allegedly stolen Toyota Corolla that he was driving.

According to police and eyewitness accounts, Longoria exited the car but refused to give up telling the cops that he had a gun and would not be “taken alive”. The police then fired several bean bag and Taser rounds at the tow-truck driver before one deputy fired his gun twice, killing him. There was no gun found in the car, or on Longoria.

As reported by CBS5 News, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office issued the following statement after the incident:

“Officers and deputies attempted to use less lethal means to take him into custody including firing several bean bag rounds and Taser deployments. The suspect refused to obey the commands and suddenly reached back into the vehicle. A deputy felt the suspect was reaching for the gun he reportedly had, so he then fired two rounds.”

However, a video shot by an eyewitness tells a different story as, while Longoria did indeed turn around and face the car, after the cops shot the bean bag rounds, he placed his hands above his head – and that’s when the cop shot him in the back.

Some officers like Sheriff Paul Babeu insist that said cop was justified: “I believe even looking at it in those circumstances, if I was a patrol officer and I was forced in that same situation, I would likely have shot him before that deputy shot him,” said Babeu.

Others, however, including former DPS and Scottsdale Police Officer Jess Torrez disagree after watching the footage:

“You have multiple police officers on the scene and only one person makes the shot. That tells me that other officers at the scene did not feel there was justification to use deadly physical force,” Torrez told the television station, “Officers are taught to look at the hands first and foremost. So if his hands are up in the air, he doesn’t have anything in them. How do they justify using deadly force?” he asked.

The Arizona City reported that the unnamed deputy who shot Longoria is a five and-a-half year veteran of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, while the deceased had a criminal record dating back to 2001, having been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2001 and assault in 2012.

A week after the deadly shooting, the deputy officer who killed Longoria was cleared and back in duty.

After you check out the incident in the video below, tell us what you think about the cop’s decision to shoot the suspect and whether he was justified.

By John Halas

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