PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The Phoenix Police Department released edited body camera video Tuesday that shows officers’ actions as they responded to a man suspected of vandalizing an apartment complex and tried to save him late last month.
In the critical incident briefing, reserved for serious police events like officer-involved shootings, video from one officer showed that he and another officer arrived at an apartment complex near 27th Avenue and Campbell Avenue, south of Camelback Road, just before 4 p.m. on July 28 because a woman called 911 saying the suspect, later identified as Jesse Fred, 42, had broken a window.
“He already, I guess he’s just like acting crazy and he busted a window,” she told a dispatcher.
The officers found Fred a little sluggish, bleeding from his face and hiding in a bush near the front gate of the complex. Officers asked him if he was OK or whether he spoke Spanish, but Fred did not respond.
“Can you hear me or no? Listen, right now you’re detained. You’re not free to leave, OK? But obviously you’re injured, and I want to get you medical attention,” one officer said.
Police said officers gave commands, but Fred did not respond. More officers then arrived.
In the briefing, the video cut to about two minutes, 20 seconds later, where officers tried to move Fred.
“Hey, let’s try to step it up a bit. He seems to be losing consciousness,” one officer told other officers.
The officer grabbed Fred’s legs while two others grabbed his upper body and moved him out of the bushes.
The video shows they moved him to the shade of a marked police SUV and made sure that the pavement did not injure him.
“It’s all right, buddy. We’re going to give you medical help,” one officer said.
Firefighters arrived about three minutes after officers moved Fred, and police said paramedics discovered Fred’s body temperature was 107 degrees. They immediately started an intense cold water treatment by putting Fred in a plastic bag filled with ice.
Fred was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
No charges have been filed, and an internal investigation is underway into the officers’ actions.
This incident came on the same day a man died following a family fight in Phoenix and the victim was put in handcuffs. Police said it was not a critical incident but released redacted body camera video of police’s response.
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