PHOENIX — New footage released Wednesday shows what happened when an officer fatally shot a man who was holding a hatchet and a chisel outside of a Phoenix restaurant last month.
The footage, released by the Phoenix Police Department, details the moments leading up to the death of 47-year-old Rocky Joe Ellis in a police shooting outside of the IHOP near 19th and Northern avenues on Aug. 19.
Warning: The video posted in the link by the Phoenix Police Department contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.
What led up to deadly police shooting at Phoenix IHOP?
Around 4 a.m., multiple people inside the restaurant called 911.
One caller, who reported Ellis for trespassing, said he allegedly came into the restaurant after being told to leave and threatened a customer, police said.
At least four officers responded to the scene and found Ellis outside of the restaurant. They saw him holding a hatchet in his right hand and a chisel in his left hand, video footage shows.
The officers told Ellis to drop his weapons multiple times, but he refused and walked toward the officers, police said. It was at this point that an officer armed with a 40mm less-lethal rubber bullet launcher shot at him twice.
However, Ellis was unaffected and kept walking toward the officers, which is when one of the officers shot Ellis with his rifle.
Officers treated Ellis for his injuries until firefighters arrived to take him to a nearby hospital, where he died.
No officers or bystanders were injured.
The officer who shot Ellis is a patrol officer assigned to the Desert Horizon precinct and has served with the Phoenix Police Department for seven years.
At the scene, investigators recovered the hatchet, chisel and a knife that Ellis was carrying.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety is still investigating this shooting.
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