Vigil planned for Emilio Chamizo, shot and killed by Phoenix police

Months after a man was shot and killed by Phoenix police, his family is still awaiting justice to be served. Saturday marks three months since his death and along with a vigil being held in his honor, family and community organizers are calling for accountability from Phoenix police.

On Feb. 7, Emilio Chamizo, 30, was shot and killed by an officer near 28th Avenue and Coronado Road.

“We are just trying to get answers in regards to everything,” Sophia Lopez, Chamizo’s sister-in-law, told The Arizona Republic. “We have had no communication with Phoenix Police Department since the detective told us that our brother had passed. We demand those videos, the actual footage.”

According to Lopez, police have not released unredacted body-worn camera footage, the autopsy report or the police report from the incident to Chamizo’s family.

Along with the firing of the police officer who shot and killed Chamizo, his family is also asking that the police release “all of the tapes, the recordings, everything that has not been altered or redacted,” she said.

Sgt. Philip Krynsky with Phoenix Police Department said they could not release information until the investigation is complete. In a February release, police said the officer involved was put on administrative leave as an internal investigation was underway.

Feb 7 shooting

In a critical incident briefing released on Feb. 22, Krynsky said officers were called to the scene after receiving a 911 call about a stabbing.

According to Krynsky, at least three officers arrived on the scene. One of the officers ordered Chamizo to drop a knife and pair of scissors he was holding in his hands. When he refused to drop either, he was shot.

Redacted body camera footage was released on Feb 22.

The redacted footage shows an officer driving his patrol car while proceeding to get closer when Chamizo turned around and began walking toward him with what police say were a knife in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other.

The footage shows the officer ordering Chamizo to get his hands out of his pockets before firing at Chamizo six times from the inside of his patrol car. Chamizo can be seen hobbling away for a few feet and, just before he collapses, another officer orders him to drop the knife and throw it away from him.

The officer repeats the orders for a little less than a minute before approaching and handcuffing Chamizo after finding him to be unresponsive. Krynsky said the officers provided medical aid until the Phoenix Fire Department arrived.

Chamizo was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

“Nobody deserves to die like this,” said Lopez. “We’re human. We’re not animals. The officer that killed him did not even put his car in park before he set off his weapon.”

A vigil to ‘honor Emilio, demand transparency’

Poder in Action, a local civil rights organization, is helping the family organize Saturday’s vigil, which is set to take place near the same intersection where Chamizo was shot, on the corner of 28th Avenue and Coronado Road, a release from the organization said.

The vigil, which will begin at 6:30 pm, is a way for the community to “honor Emilio, demand transparency, and continue the fight for justice,” the release said.

“Emilio was a son, brother, uncle, and community member that is deeply missed,” the release said. “Like the families that have come before them, the Chamizo family is still waiting for the truth about what happened to their loved one.”

Lopez said that their family has received no answers or support from the family advocacy group set up by Phoenix Police Department as a means to be a “barrier between civilians and police.”

Krynsky did not respond to questions specific to the case, saying only that an internal investigation is ongoing.

“If they’re not going to help us or protect us, then we don’t need police like that,” said Brooks Murillo, Chamizo’s older brother. “We don’t want nobody like that patrolling our streets saying they’re going to protect us when they’re only coming out to shoot us. We don’t want that and that’s what we’re hoping to change.”

Republic reporter Perry Vandell contributed to this article.

Reach breaking news reporter Haleigh Kochanski at [email protected] or on Twitter @HaleighKochans.

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