GLENDALE, Ariz. — The family of 15-year-old Juan Carlos Bojorquez gathered outside Glendale City Hall Thursday, demanding answers and justice for the teen who was shot and killed by Glendale police on July 6.
Glendale police were investigating a stolen car at an apartment complex near 63rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road.
They found Bojorquez and his 16-year-old cousin in the car. According to police, the teens were asked if there was a gun in the vehicle. Police said there was a gun sitting in a compartment underneath the dashboard. When officers tried to remove Bojorquez from the vehicle, they believed he had reached for the gun, and that’s when an undercover officer shot him.
You can watch the Glendale Police Department’s Critical Briefing here.
Bojorquez’s cousin said he was reaching for the seatbelt. The undercover officer was not wearing a bodycam.
“My nephew was only 15. He is gone now. My family is struggling to pick up the pieces of our broken hearts. We feel the only way we can expect any closure to this is for Glendale to give us the full police report. All the redacted footage and for our family to be treated with humanity and respect that they would want if it was one of their own,” said Maria Martinez, Bojorquez’s aunt.
The case is still under investigation by the Buckeye Police Department.
The Bojorquez family wants an outside independent investigation instead.
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