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Subscribe to RSSScottsdale police Officer James Peters has been involved in seven shootings in the past 10 years. Lissette Martinez of NBC station KPNX reports.
The Arizona police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man while he held his baby grandson has been involved in at least five previous fatal shootings, police said.
The officer, James Peters of the Scottsdale police, was on administrative leave Thursday after he killed John Loxas, 50, with a single rifle shot to the head Tuesday. Loxas' 9-month-old grandson, who was in his arms, was unhurt.
"There were at least three officers in position to engage the suspect," Sgt. Mark Clark, a spokesman for the Scottsdale police, told NBC station KPNX of Phoenix. "At least one of the officers thought he saw something in the suspect's hands."
KPNX reported that Peters has now been involved in seven shootings in the past 10 years, six of them fatal. The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that the city of Scottsdale agreed to a $75,000 settlement in 2009 with the family of one of the people Peters had killed; the city denied liability.
New Times, a Phoenix alternative weekly, profiled Peters in 2010 under the headline "'Dirty Harry' in Scottsdale? Badass Cop Bags Four Bad Guys in 10-Year Career."
Police said that as a former member of the SWAT team, Peters had been involved in the department's most dangerous assignments and that all of the previous shootings had been found to be justified.
In the incident Tuesday, police were called to Loxas' home after a call to 911 reported that he had kicked over a trash can and threatened the owner when he complained. The caller said Loxas was walking around the neighborhood with his grandson and a weapon.
"We have a neighbor out here that pulled a gun on us," the caller said. "He's got a baby in his arms. He's got a gun, and he cocked it."
Loxas had returned home by the time police arrived, and he answered the door with the baby in his arms. Peters and another officer told investigators they saw something in Loxas' hand, and when he turned, Peters fired a single shot, killing Loxas instantaneously.
Afterward, detectives determined that Loxas wasn't armed. But they did find several weapons in the home, KPNX reported.
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Everyone has an opinion, but we do not have all the facts. Maybe he is trigger happy or not. We don't know.
The first five killings might have been a little bit of a red flag?????????????????
why its only citizens if it was somebody in the spotlight be different
THINKING a suspect has a weapon and SEEING that a suspect has a weapon are two different things !!
I would think that if the suspect answers the door, and the cops are that close, see the baby in his arms, they
have to make a split second decision. Sounds like they made the wrong one. Why not shoot the guy with a
bean bag shot ? Was there a standoff BEFORE he answered the door? Are there missing details to the story ?
Did this guy have a "history" of threatening people with guns ?? There hopefully is more to the story. I too am
a little suspect of the accuracy of the reporting and "bias" by MSNBC and NBC (2 very liberal "anti-gun" and
"anti-police" organizations). I am telling you, the liberal media is SO in bed with the liberal "anti-gun",
"anti-police" and "anti-christian" groups that it's funny. Not to mention the obvious "in bed" with Obama.
Bottom line, if the cop did not have a justified kill, then he should be terminated from being a cop.
This may have already been discussed, I didn't read all the posts. The officer that shot this man most like was using high powered rifle that I would assume would have a high powered scope. I would think he would be able to determine if there was a gun in the mans hand! How hard would it be to move your sights down 3 feet? Just a thought. I have nothing against police but something like this should be looked at very closley
Where was threat? By the article the officers show up at the Loxas' house knowing from a caller that Loxas was suppose to have a gun. So what if Loxas did have a gun, did he use it in a threatening manner toward the officers? Towards the baby? Did the officers ask Loxas to drop what appeared to be a gun, or just drop Loxas? It was Loxas. Thats still not justifiable to shoot Loxas just because it looks like he has a gun. To make a head shot like Peters did, he (Peters) had to be set up and ready to make that shot. For some reason Peters is not on the SWAT team anymore, loose cannon?
I've got weapons in my home....does that make it all right for a psycho pig to shoot me on sight, unarmed or not?
Do you realize that police departments are predominantly funded by taxes on the working class, yet they overwhelmingly protect the rights of the wealthy elite? In essence, we're subsidizing our own oppression.
Like the song says, f^&k da police.
The grandpa was a crazy man. He was walking around the neighborhood threatening people with a gun WHILE HOLDING HIS GRANDBABY! I think I'd rather have him dead than have him kill a truly innocent neighbor or a police officer. Arizona has already lost too many police officers in the line of duty these past couple of years. Officer Peters has family too that he has to think about with every move he makes. People need to realize that police officers have not even a second to make a decision when they think lives are in danger. This man was unpredictable, holding a baby and was not cooperating in the first place. Police are humans they are not perfect. Why don't you read the articles for every other shooting he was involved in. I'm glad those people are no longer around. Thank you officer Peters for serving and protecting our community. For all you police haters out there I would LOVE to see you try to do their job on their pay for one day. Instead you sit there in your comfortable home passing judgement and you have know idea what our police officers go through to PROTECT YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES. People say cops are pigs and they hate them. What would America be like without them? Think about that for a minute.
If he had a kid in his arms, common sense says there's something wrong with this picture... A little more probing, and maybe this could have been avoided. Even in Iraq and Afghan, they try not to hurt people with children if at all possible !!
The grandpa was a crazy man???
I'm willing to bet the grandpa never murdered anyone before!
The pig had murdered 5 people (at that point) that we know about.
Do I detect a trend? Or is this guy just trigger-happy? I'm all for police protection, but this Rambo needs to be investigated...
...Actually Sara you are oh so wrong !!!
1. Governments often settle lawsuits of this type because it's much less expensive than a court case that drags on for years and runs legal fees into HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS and more.
2. "IF" there had been "more" to this case the "other side" wouldn't have settled so CHEAP !!!....Try adding at least another zero or two to that MEASLEY $75,000 settlement figure !!!
3. The two-bit ambulance chasers count on this when filing their pizz-willy weak law suits....you won't find a good lawyer from a high profile firm handling these types of cases, they simply don't have the time and that settlement figure is peanuts to them.........
You forgot point #4...a reputable lawyer wouldn't consider defending a lying fuc#ing cop.
Night Hawk - They don't pay up here even when it is clear they were wrong. I think Sara has it right
I won't say what I don't know.I regret it happened.This the reason I would never serve on a jury.I will not be responsible for decision such as this.I know this has nothing to do with jury decision on here.It is not necessary to clarify this.Save your comment for others who have given this more logical thought.Many are very good at such.It is a sad event.
HEY ! He was cleaning his gun ,,,,,six times,,,,, in the back !
All those responsible for this effin murderer to get away with as much as he already has, should be punished right along with him...now, what does this pig deserve...he should have his arm ripped off at the shoulder...when he recovers, he should have the other arm ripped off at the shoulder...when he recovers, chop off one of his legs...when he recovers, chop off the other leg...now take him on a nationwide tour of every prison in the country and let the inmates beat the fuc# out of him until he is nearly dead...when he recovers, move along to the next prison...and so on, and so on, and so on...infinity.
From the info this site is sharing, Their is no way this cop was justified. 1st of all Mable this was a neighbor that had a grudge against this victim & really enhanced the truth of why he was calling. (COULD OF TAKEN PLACE) So i can understand officers having weapons drawn from info that was relayed through dispatch. They approached the victims home & made verbal contact, (What was exchanged we will only hear from these two officers, & it could very well be the absolute truth. However 2 police don't think they seen something that was an immediate threat to their lives or others (the child) So one of the officers that is either the most unlucky police officer ever (due to being in situations in the last 10 yrs that has put him in a position that he had to take 6 lives) or this officer is nothing but a murderer. Now the victim & these cops exchanged words,then the victim turns away & Officer Peters kills him instantly with a shot to the head. I don't like fill in the blank stories, & their is so many unanswered ?s here. But yet the only ones that can answer them ?s are the two police officers that were sent on that call. This calls for an immediate outside federal investigation. I hope them 2 officers were split up by responding officers as soon as they arrived. I want to know what them officers thought they seen. Did they both think they saw the same thing ? And if they truly felt threatened for their lives why did only one officer fire his weapon ? If they really believed their was a threat, Well they should of believed as well the threat was severely lessened when the victim turned away from them. Once again i would love to know the whole truth to this tragedy. And i say to Officer Peters if all truth is being told here, Man you should request a desk job. God be with this family & friends of the victim & these officers as well. Because one day their will be accountability for this.
Scum police all over the world, killing innocents
Two questions what idiot goes around harrasing his neighbors with a baby under his arm and a gun in his hand and then answers the door when the cops show up holding the baby? I would also ask why does this man have a loaded pistol tucked into the cushion of a chair onlya few feet from where he was killed and a loaded shot gun nearby...cmon people wake up
The neighbor was a liar and the cop thinks he is dirty harry. Throw them both to the pigs to eat
Will pigs eat other pigs???
Every man has the natural right of self-defense. In America this natural right is codified in the Second Amendment. This victim had every right to keep loaded guns in his home. The criminal who shot him should face justice, but of course he will not. The system is flawed.
If a man was walking around with a Baby and a Gun, why would just one call from a neighbor come in. Just one? Really? A man with a gun walking around and he cocks it, and just one neighbor calls it in.
I call BS. When something like that happens logic tells you that several people would be calling it in.
Public servants should not be armed. They are servants and should serve the people. All civilians should have the right to keep and bear any kind of arms they choose. If all our public servants were disarmed and were forced to give up their body armor too, then they would learn how to be civil and humble public servants.
No problem with this. Grandpa owned multiple guns, sounds like the kind of guy we do not want more of.
So if I own multiple guns, it's ok for a cop to shoot me? Guess if you one were to own multiple kitchen knives it would be ok for a cop to stab them to death using your logic.
Hell,thats all i needed to know.
I read there were only 100 or 200 some cops nationwide killed last year, with the hundreds of thousands of cops on the streets, it doesn't sound like a very dangerous occupation to me. I'm sure cops beat and kill a larger proportion of the general population than the proportion of cops are killed to the number of cops there are nationwide, I think it is braver to be a citizen than a cowardly cop. Two word that go perfect together, cowardly cop, cowardly cop, cowardly cop, cowardly cop.
This one is for Takenaka:
Victim: You can't shoot me, hand guns are banned.
Criminal: Pop Pop. Guess I didn't get the memo.
Moral of the story: Banning guns simply bans citizens from rightful protection.
I don't understand how anyone can defend that cop. He murdered a man in cold blood. He should be behind bars because the general-public is clearly in danger with him being free.
Another piece of @!$%# who gives real hardworking law enforcement a bad name.
My neighbor from hell once called the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office and told them that I was threatening his family with a rifle. I had been gardening and using a shovel I was walking into my house when there were spotlights and people yelling at me and I was lit up with about 10 red laser sights from their M16 rifles. If my hands weren't empty I very well could have been shot. I didn't even own a rifle at the time and I think my neighbor was hoping that the deputies would see me holding a shovel and shoot me. This was in the evening so they might not actually find out what I was holding before they fired. My nieghbor thinks that things are quiet now after several years but I am just waiting for my chance. Someday when he least expects it...