Ryan Whitaker Shot by Police for having a Gun in Phoenix, AZ – Video

[Elderberry]

Ammoland by Dean Weingarten 8/13/2020

May 21, 2020, at about 10:53 p.m, in Phoenix's Ahwatukee Foothills neighborhood, officers are responding to a noise complaint thinly disguised as a domestic violence incident. The complainant is desperate to get to sleep because he has to get up to go to work. He tells the dispatcher at 10:18 it is a domestic altercation. The exact time of the second call is not given, but the caller says it is a half-hour after the first call.

In the second call, the caller makes clear this is a noise complaint.  He is asked if this is a male and a female in a verbal. From what police have released of the call (includes  graphic video of the shooting) :

The police go to the apartment. Officers take up positions on each side of the door, well separated. One officer knocks on the door, and announces “Phoenix police”, in a slightly elevated voice.

About 12 seconds later, the door is opened. Ryan Whitaker, a white male, 40 years old, answers the door. He is holding a semiautomatic pistol in his right hand, down at his side. He moves the pistol behind his back, so as not to alarm the person outside.  He takes one step outside the door.

More: https://www.ammoland.com/2020/08/ryan-whitaker-shot-by-police-for-having-a-gun-in-phoenix-az-video/


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[Cyber Liberty]

Should I be sad?

[skeeter]

Should I be sad?

Sounds like theres at least one police officer in Phoenix who shouldn't be walking around armed.

[Cyber Liberty]

Sounds like theres at least one police officer in Phoenix who shouldn't be walking around armed.

It does, but the shooteee appears to not be black, so his life doesn't matter....

An old bromide comes to mind:  There is no situation that can't be made worse by calling the cops.

[PeteS in CA]

Ryan Whitaker, a white male, 40 years old, answers the door. He is holding a semiautomatic pistol in his right hand, down at his side. He moves the pistol behind his back, so as not to alarm the person outside.  He takes one step outside the door.

Taking the OP article's description at face value, putting the gun behind him, out of sight, was not to alarm the police officer? Seems to me it would have the opposite effect, and stepping outside his door with the gun held out of sight could reasonably look aggressive.

[sneakypete]

Should I be sad?

@Cyber Liberty

Yes!

This is what happens when you give cowards a badge and a gun.

[sneakypete]

Taking the OP article's description at face value, putting the gun behind him, out of sight, was not to alarm the police officer? Seems to me it would have the opposite effect, and stepping outside his door with the gun held out of sight could reasonably look aggressive.

@PeteS in CA

And the cop shooting him in the back DOESN'T "look aggressive"?

[Smokin Joe]

@PeteS in CA

And the cop shooting him in the back DOESN'T "look aggressive"?

Very. But the person who should have this man's death on his doorstep is the sh*tbird who called it in as a domestic because he 'can't get no sleep', because it would get the police there sooner (than his first noise complaint).

Listen to the audio again if you missed the 'if it will get you here sooner' comment.

[DB]

Taking the OP article's description at face value, putting the gun behind him, out of sight, was not to alarm the police officer? Seems to me it would have the opposite effect, and stepping outside his door with the gun held out of sight could reasonably look aggressive.

It was a mess. From the video it looked like he was setting the gun down on the floor in his house trying not to be a threat. But in doing so it was no longer visible to the officers. Anyone can yell police when banging on your door in the middle of the night. It isn't unreasonable to answer the door with a gun in your hand behind you not knowing what you're dealing with. It is a no win situation.

Part of taking a job as a police officer is taking risks to protect the public. To me that means you risk your life before you risk the life of the public you serve. You're the one with the training with lethal force. If you can't do that, you shouldn't sign up for that job.

[skeeter]

It was a mess. From the video it looked like he was setting the gun down on the floor in his house trying not to be a threat. But in doing so it was no longer visible to the officers. Anyone can yell police when banging on your door in the middle of the night. It isn't unreasonable to answer the door with a gun in your hand behind you not knowing what you're dealing with. It is a no win situation.

Part of taking a job as a police officer is taking risks to protect the public. To me that means you risk your life before you risk the life of the public you serve. You're the one with the training with lethal force. If you can't do that, you shouldn't sign up for that job.

Blazing away at someone you've just called out of the house at 2am 'cause you 'can't see his gun' and asking questions later isn't an acceptable crime control tactic.

[DB]

Blazing away at someone you've just called out of the house at 2am 'cause you 'can't see his gun' and asking questions later isn't an acceptable crime control tactic.

I agree. That is putting your life as the officer first and that isn't what the job calls for.

[PeteS in CA]

@PeteS in CA

And the cop shooting him in the back DOESN'T "look aggressive"?

The police officer who shot the man saw the resident hiding the gun behind his back and step out. He protected his partner from the weapon his partner could no longer see.

*************************

As for:

One officer knocks on the door, and announces “Phoenix police”, in a slightly elevated voice.

This is a false statement. The officers' announcement was louder than the knocking on the door. So if the resident heard the knocking he should have heard the announcement as or more easily.

[DB]

The police officer who shot the man saw the resident hiding the gun behind his back and step out. He protected his partner from the weapon his partner could no longer see.

*************************

As for:

This is a false statement. The officers' announcement was louder than the knocking on the door. So if the resident heard the knocking he should have heard the announcement as or more easily.

Anyone can yell police. That isn't enough. His partner doesn't have to see it if he can. The bottom line is should losing sight of a gun be a death sentence under those circumstances? Especially when the gun was perfectly legal to carry in AZ. And it certainly looked like he was trying to set it down in a nonthreatening way but didn't realize the significance of where he was laying it down which is easy to understand in a sudden tense moment.

[Smokin Joe]

The police officer who shot the man saw the resident hiding the gun behind his back and step out. He protected his partner from the weapon his partner could no longer see.

*************************

As for:

This is a false statement. The officers' announcement was louder than the knocking on the door. So if the resident heard the knocking he should have heard the announcement as or more easily.

Not necessarily. They were playing video games. It is one thing to hear a knock at the door, another to hear and understand a voice over the game. Also, the officers stepped to the sides and were not readily visible through any peephole device in the door. Hence, identification had to be made face to face, a tactic common to home invaders.

You either answer the door ready to protect yourself and get gunned down, or don't answer the door ready to protect yourself and deal with home invaders. It's Hobson's choice.
The guy who came to the door seemed confused at being braced by police officers and unsure of what to do. The gun was moved behind him to not pose a threat, rather than presented to do so.  He was crouching to set the gun down. Yelling "Hands! Hands!" (bangbangbangbang) didn't even leave time for the handgun to hit the floor.
IMHO, the officer shot far too quickly.
This shooting also amounted to a swatting by the complainant.
I hope that SOB who called this in, sees this man get shot every night he closes his eyes, and never gets another good night's sleep in his life.

[skeeter]

 The lesson here is at 2am do not open the damn door for anyone.

[Sighlass]

Very sad, I am one of those fellows that will keep a gun on me when answering the door late night. I also have a way to see who is at the door, not sure this fellow did (or not). I don't open until I know what I am opening to. If this fellow didn't have a way to look out and was "blindsighted" with a flashlight in the face, how the heck is he to know what he is facing. I don't like the flashlight at all, it is like the thugs in Seattle shining laser lights, it limits how you can respond.

The fellow obviously is like me, you don't "hard drop" your gun, it is dangerous to do so, you lay it down. I can't fault the fellow in his reaction at all. He was doing his best to not damage his gun, lay it safely down, and be submissive with very little time to process things. Also they did say they were police, but NO it was not loud enough to make sure he heard it. Yes you can hear a knock better than a voice going through a door.

Police officer, in a rock and hard place, but my gun (and I assume this fellow too) is legal for me to carry especially in my home. I understand their need to be safe, but they sure didn't give this fellow much space to comply (and time to process it). The hand putting the gun down was hidden from the fellow that shot, he was to protect his partner. Unfortunate. Seems to be nice police that were not being rude (from way he talked to the lady).

What have I learned from this video (already knew)... Know what you are opening your door too. BEFORE you open door, at least verbally know what you are up against... In this case, if the deceased had took a little more time to id his surroundings he probable would still be alive. Even though it was no fault of his own his death occurred (other than perhaps being more respectful with his volume at night).

Things we can not just assume here... They might of been fighting and the caller may of been correct even though she claims differently. Slamming doors etc is not usually something that occurs unless someone is upset.

We can also not assume the caller was telling the truth, as pointed out, he did make a comment to the effect of whatever makes the police come quicker.

Do I think the police are at fault here? Nope, but dang I would want that flashlight rule looked at. The fellow was putting down his gun and had no clue he was doing it where the other police officer could not see it as highly suspicious/dangerous.

[sneakypete]

Very. But the person who should have this man's death on his doorstep is the sh*tbird who called it in as a domestic because he 'can't get no sleep', because it would get the police there sooner (than his first noise complaint).

Listen to the audio again if you missed the 'if it will get you here sooner' comment.

@Smokin Joe

Still,that guy isn't a professional,and the cops are supposed to be professionals who don't operate off of rumors. The only one responsible for that man's murder is the cop that pulled the trigger.

[Smokin Joe]

@Smokin Joe

Still,that guy isn't a professional,and the cops are supposed to be professionals who don't operate off of rumors. The only one responsible for that man's murder is the cop that pulled the trigger.

And the caller who passively-aggressively complained there was a domestic with violence going on, to get the police there sooner, "because he couldn't get sleep and had to work the next day'

[sneakypete]

The police officer who shot the man saw the resident hiding the gun behind his back and step out. He protected his partner from the weapon his partner could no longer see.

*************************

@PeteS in CA

Yeah,causen dere ain't nobodie mo dangerius dan a white man wid a gun behind his back,huh?

That cop is a cowardly punk that shot that man in the back BECAUSE he is a cowardly punk. Period. SOB should be held to HIGHER standards than "civilians",and should have the book thrown at him.

As for:

This is a false statement. The officers' announcement was louder than the knocking on the door. So if the resident heard the knocking he should have heard the announcement as or more easily.

And we ALL just KNOW that when you hear knocking on your door at 0-dark thirty and a voice announcing "open up,it's the police!" you just KNOW it really is the po-po because nobody interested in robbing you or causing you hard would EVER dare say such a thing because it would get them in trouble,huh?

Adding to the difficulty of ID level is he lived in an apartment and couldn't look out his window and see police cars.

[sneakypete]

And the caller who passively-aggressively complained there was a domestic with violence going on, to get the police there sooner, "because he couldn't get sleep and had to work the next day'

@Smokin Joe

I am sure he can and SHOULD be charged with something. Filing a false police report,if nothing else.

But was a cop,who is supposed to be a professional,and who had probably been on call for dozens,if not hundreds of similar calls,that punked out and murdered that man.