Phoenix approves $3 million settlement to family of man shot and killed by police
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PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) — The City of Phoenix city council unanimously passed a settlement connected to a deadly officer-involved shooting in Ahwatukee.
In a 9-0 vote on Wednesday afternoon, a $3,000,000 settlement was approved to go to the family of Ryan Whitaker.
Whitaker was shot and killed by Phoenix police officer Jeff Cooke on May 21, 2020.
The incident started with a 911 call just after 10:15 p.m. reporting domestic dispute involving a woman and Ryan Whitaker.
Police say the caller contacted 911 again about 30 minutes after the initial call to report that things had escalated. “It’s getting really loud and they’ve been doing it for the last hour,” he said. “I hear slamming of doors. I don’t know. Somebody could be gettin’ thrown into a door for all I know. But I hear all kinds of banging.”
Police say Whitaker, 40, was armed when he opened the door to responding officers, who arrived about 10 minutes after the second 911 call. Sgt. Tommy Thompson of the Phoenix Police Department said both officers were wearing body cameras.
Those body-cam videos show that the officers, who knocked on the door and announced themselves as police, were on either side of the apartment door when Whitaker opened the door. He had a gun in his hand and stepped toward one of the officers. “Believing the other is in imminent danger, the second officer fires his weapon, striking Whitaker,” Thompson said. Whitaker did not fire his gun, which is shown in a photo on the floor just inside the doorway.
The Phoenix Police Department identified that second officer as Officer Jeff Cooke.
“The entire encounter between the officers and Whitaker lasted just seconds,” Thompson said.
Cooke fired three rounds. Whitaker appeared to be starting to kneel and putting his hands up when the officer fired. Whitaker was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported.
Thompson said Cooke has been with Phoenix PD for about three years. He also said the incident is the subject of two investigations – an internal one and a criminal investigation that will be reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. It will up to MCAO to decide if Cooke will face criminal charges.
Katie Baeza, Whitaker’s sister, told Arizona’s Family on Wednesday that she had a lot of “mixed emotions” after news of the settlement broke. While she’s grateful for city leaders’ support, Baeza feels like the officers involved still need to be held accountable. She wants charges brought against the officer who shot her brother.
It has been a traumatic year for Baeza and the family as they grapple with Ryan’s death. “The trauma is not anything you can explain to people that have never had to sit and watch a video of their loved one be killed,” she said.
Baeza wants changes within the department, so this doesn’t happen to anyone else. “There was no de-escalating,” she said. “My brother did all of the de-escalating in that situation.”
Baeza says there hasn’t been much communication about the ongoing investigation and the family feels betrayed.
Whitaker is remembered as someone funny, an “awesome father,” and an all-around good guy who took part in baseball and cornhole tournaments for good causes. “He always made everyone feel welcome,” Baeza said. “If it was a family member that is distant, or someone brought a new person along that we all met, he instantly gravitated towards making them feel welcome, and everyone waited for Uncle Ryan to get there.”
In the meeting, Councilmembers Carlos Garcia and Sal DiCiccio voiced their support for the Whitaker family and offered their condolences.
“We not only failed this family in our policies, but I feel like we also failed them in being able to walk them through this process,” Garcia said. DiCiccio also said that Whitaker did “everything right that night.”
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