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Phoenix police approved to buy drones after city council vote

The police department requested the drones for situations like last Friday’s incident in West Phoenix where nine officers were wounded.

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Police Department will soon be purchasing drones after the city's council approved the measure in a 6-3 vote Wednesday night.

Council staff estimated it would take three to six months for the city to purchase the drones and get them to the department. In the meantime, the city will approve the safety and privacy regulations that will govern the department's use of drones.

Police requested the drones for situations like last Friday’s incident in West Phoenix where nine officers were wounded and a woman was killed when a suspect barricaded himself in a home and eventually shot himself.

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“This technology would not only give us a visual picture of what’s occurring inside," said Executive Assistant Chief Michael Kurtenbach. "What we’re proposing is to procure the technology to communicate with the individual or individuals inside that home.”

Councilwoman Betty Guardado and Councilman Carlos Garcia both objected to the program, saying most of the council had not read the police department’s proposed regulations and procedures and that more community input was needed to develop them. 

Eventually, Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari made an amendment to Councilwoman O’Brien’s motion to buy the drones, adding that the council will work on new policies as the procurement process takes place.

The final officer injured in the Feb. 11 incident was released from the hospital on Wednesday. One of the injured officers spoke to the media about his experience.

Officer Aldo Nunez said he was taking another man into custody when he heard the shots.

“It felt like I had been shot,” Nunez said. “I felt it in my leg.” 

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Nunez was one of several officers who sustained superficial wounds and continued working the scene despite their injuries. Nunez said he pulled the bullet fragment out himself and continued working.

“We obviously knew that there were other officers injured,” Nunez said. “We wanted to do what was right and try to get a bad guy behind bars.”

Officers were shot after a man appeared in the doorway of the barricaded home and placed an infant in the doorway, police said. Shots came from inside the house when officers approached and tried to get the infant. 

Nunez said he and another officer were taking that man into custody at the time more shots were fired. None of the officers on the scene knew there was another man inside the house and that he was still armed.

Phoenix Police identified the shooter as Morris Richard Jones III. They say the infant was his child and that Jones shot the baby’s mother, Shatifah Lobely. 

Lobley eventually passed away from her injuries. The man with the baby, according to police, was Lobley’s brother. He has not been charged with any crime related to the shooting. Nunez said the other officers on the scene believed Lobley’s brother was the only threat until Jones began shooting.

In front of City Council Wednesday, Kurtenbach said a drone program would prevent the events of Friday morning from happening again by giving police more knowledge of the situation than they are able to get without drones.

“It improves the safety of everyone involved,” Kurtenbach told the Council.

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