Wallet Mistaken For Gun
PHOENIX (AP) A Phoenix police officer shot and killed a man who had reached for a black object that turned out to be his wallet.
Sgt. Tommy Thompson said in a news release Monday that officers responding to a call around 9:20 p.m. Sunday found a 24-year-old woman on the roof of an apartment building with her 11-month-old child.
Thompson says the woman told police she climbed up there after having a violent fight with her boyfriend, adding that he was very drunk.
Thompson says a fight broke out between officers and the boyfriend after they tried to arrest him, and he ran upstairs.
Thompson says soon after, the man pulled out a black object and started to turn toward the officers.
That's when an officer shot him several times, thinking the man had a weapon. It turned out to be a wallet. The man died at a hospital.