Miggytronz
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The Scottsdale police officer who shot and killed a man holding a baby Tuesday has been involved in seven shootings since 2002, six of them fatal, police said Wednesday.
Officer James Peters shot 50-year-old John Loxas on Tuesday evening after police were called to a house in the 7700 block of East Garfield Street, near Hayden and McKellips roads. Neighbors had called 911 earlier and said Loxas had threatened them with a handgun.
Peters, a former member of the department's SWAT team, was one of six officers who responded to the call. The 12-year police veteran is on administrative leave, which is standard after any police shooting, said Sgt. Mark Clark, a Scottsdale police spokesman.
According to the 911 call, the neighbors said Loxas was pushing his 9-month-old grandsonin a stroller and walked over and kicked a neighbor's trash can into the street. When another neighbor went to pick it up, Loxas returned with the baby in his arms and started yelling, "You got a problem with that?" the caller tells the dispatcher. "The guy pulls out a gun, cocks it and aimed it at him."
When officers arrived, Loxas had returned to his house, but came to the door with the baby in his arms, police said. Peters and another officer told investigators that they saw a black object in Loxas' hand. Loxas turned to go back inside when Peters, who was standing 18 feet away at the edge of the driveway, shot him in the head with his patrol rifle, police said.
"(Loxas) was holding the baby in his left arm in front of his upper body and face. Moments later, he reached down to his right, lowering the baby, clearly exposing his head and upper body. Officer Peters responded to the movement with a single shot (to) the suspect's head. The suspect fell to the ground and the baby was rescued by officers. The suspect died instantly," Clark said.
Peters "felt he had to prevent him from re-entering the house," Clark said. "The intent was to rescue the baby." Investigators later determined that Loxas was not carrying a gun but had a cellphone in his pants pocket.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/artic...-scottsdale-police-officer.html#ixzz1mZ1VZrTu
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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_...-tuesday-has-killed-at-least-5-while-on-duty/
When police arrived, three officers - including Peters - made their way to the front door. One officer says he spotted what was believed to be a weapon.
Sgt. Clark said the suspect was holding the child in his left arm in front of his upper body and face. The suspect then reached down to his right, lowering the baby and exposing his head and upper body. Officer Peters fired a single shot to the suspect's head. The suspect fell to the ground and the baby was rescued by officers. The suspect died instantly, according to Sgt Clark, and the baby was unharmed.
Inside the home, police say they found two loaded pistols, including one between the arm and cushion of a chair a few feet away from where the suspect fell. Police also told KPHO they had been to the same home in 2009 where the same man was also believed to have been waiving a gun at people.
"In this particular case we had someone the officers were confronting that had already pointed his pistol at at least two neighbors while he had a child in his arms, so there's a lot of factors that go into the decision to shoot - certainly the presence of a weapon is one of them or the perceived presence of a weapon," Clark said Wednesday morning.
http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/regio...ot-dead-by-police-wanted-to-run-for-president
SCOTTSDALE, AZ - The grandfather who was shot dead by a Scottsdale police officer while holding his grandson, planned to run for President this fall, even though he was open to violence against government employees.
John George Loxas II wanted to run on a platform of education reform that he hoped would end war and hunger, according to his campaign’s Facebook page .
“A REVOLUTION IS COMING,” he wrote in March 2011, “THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO CHANGE. The question is: Who do YOU want to be the President of the United States AFTER the revolution is over??”
Loxas only had 17 followers on his page , but it appears his writings and his hopes to run for President were sincere.
“I believe that the World Bank/International Monetary Fund/Federal Reserve/IRS, mainstream media, corporatism, Zionism and GREED are the true axes of evil whether or not, they know or believe that themselves. Right or wrong, true or untrue; this is MY belief, and I firmly stand by it,” he wrote on his personal Facebook page .
Despite his aspirations for peace, he also appeared to suggest violence when the “revolution” came.
“If you must burn a building, or shed blood, make certain it is a GOVERNMENT building or a GOVERNMENT representative,” he wrote, “ANY agent of the government, is an enemy of the PEOPLE.”
On January 27th, he suddenly announced that he was ending his bid for the Oval Office.
“After many heartfelt conversations with my closest friends and family,” he wrote, “I have decided that it is in the best interest of the American people, that I formally renounce my candidacy for President.”
Loxas had a previous run-in with Scottsdale police in 2010.
Officers charged him with disorderly conduct after they said he had been drinking, carrying a firearm and arguing with his neighbors.
http://www.newser.com/article/d9suk...had-6-other-shootings-including-5-fatals.html
"There were at least three officers that were in a position to engage the suspect," Clark said. "At least one of the officers thought he saw something in the suspect's hand. So at this point in the investigation we want to make sure we have all of the officers' statements down."
Rodbell said the investigation will likely take weeks to complete. Afterward, the findings will be turned over to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
Police said Loxas went back in his house after allegedly threatening the neighbors, then opened the door with the 9-month-old grandson in his arms but wouldn't come out.
Several officers called for him to come outside, but Loxas refused, Rodbell said. Peters shot Loxas in the head with a scope-equipped rifle from about 15 yards away when he leaned over and reached inside the house.
Loxas died instantly, and fell with the baby in his arms, police spokesman Sgt. Mark Clark said. The baby was unhurt.
Police said a loaded handgun was tucked into the side of a chair a few feet inside the door, and a shotgun was also found nearby.
Rodbell promised a complete investigation into the shooting.
"A police officer's primary duty is to protect life. It is difficult for everyone when we are forced to take a life," Rodbell said.
Thumbs up to the swat trained officer who did the right thing.