Phoenix police released a “critical incident briefing” on Friday containing snippets of body-camera footage depicting the arrest of a man who later died hours later at the hospital.
Sgt. Phil Krynsky, a department spokesperson, narrated the video where he said officers responded to the area of 43rd Avenue and Thomas Road on Jan. 10 at around 2 p.m. to arrest a man who had an outstanding felony parole violation warrant outside Arizona while also being wanted for questioning regarding an armed robbery in Phoenix.
Phoenix police previously identified the man as 33-year-old Turrell Dantae Clay.
Krynsky said Clay, who was armed with a handgun, refused to comply with officers and fled the area when they saw him climb atop the roof of a nearby home. Footage from a police drone that followed Clay showed him climbing over walls throughout a residential neighborhood before climbing on a parked car to reach the roof of a home. Officers surrounded the home and ordered Clay to come down, which he refused to do, Krynsky said.
An officer then fired a less-lethal 37-millimeter launcher which released a “direct-impact baton” to inflict painful non-lethal injuries, according to Krynsky. The officer fired multiple times at Clay, though Krynsky said not all the batons struck him. Body-camera footage showed officers shouting expletives at Clay to get off the roof before the officer fired the launcher.
Clay can be heard saying “I’m not refusing, sir” several times as officers held him to the ground to handcuff him. Krynsky said an officer delivered “several forearm strikes” as officers worked to handcuff him.
Krynsky said the officers later retraced Clay’s steps and found a handgun in an area near where he had discarded his shirt. Krynsky added that paramedics with Phoenix Fire evaluated Clay and released him back to officers.
Later, while still in custody, Clay told officers he had a hard time breathing. Krynsky said officers drove him to a nearby hospital where doctors determined he would need “advanced medical care.” Krynsky said a private ambulance drove Clay to a cardiac hospital where he died during a surgical procedure. The death was approximately four and a half hours after his arrest.
Krynsky said the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office was leading a criminal investigation into the incident as per protocol while the Phoenix Police Department is handling the administrative investigation to determine if any of the officers violated department policy.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix PD’s video shows man’s arrest, hours before his death