The 28 officer-involved shootings in the Valley so far this year represent a significant rise compared to recent years. Last year, there were 43 total cases in which officers opened fire on suspects.
In response, the Valley’s largest police department, where 11 of those shootings have taken place this year, may order an outside evaluation.
The Phoenix Police Department is in communication with Arizona State University to study why there has been “an increase in violence against police,” said Sgt. Jonathan Howard, public information officer for the department.
Going back a full year to the beginning of 2017, the shootings have occurred across the Valley, with 35 in Phoenix, 11 in Mesa and 7 in Glendale.
“The officers involved have lifelong impacts as well. Our employee wellness program is addressing that,” said Sgt. Howard. “We have a mandatory period where the officer is removed from their assignment and placed in an alternate assignment for a decompression period to make sure they are mentally healing from the incident.”
Historically, officer-involved shootings in the county spiked in 2013 but have remained in the mid- to low- 40s annually since then.
In 2015, Phoenix police ramped up efforts to train officers on de-escalation techniques to handle mentally ill suspects and reduce the likelihood of shootings.