[Rick Lee]

37 yrs. old and seven fatal shootings under his belt? Hero or villain? What a read this is.

Family of man in fatal police shooting filing lawsuit against Scottsdale
by Laurie Merrill - Sept. 23, 2012 08:45 PM

The family of a man who was holding his grandson when Scottsdale police fatally shot the man in February will file a federal lawsuit against the city Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona has announced.

The plaintiffs are relatives of John Loxas, who was 50 when Scottsdale police responded to a report of a man threatening neighbors with a gun on Feb. 14, said Alessandra Soler, executive director of ACLU of Arizona.

In a statement, Soler said the police-misconduct suit stems from "the brutal killing of a man holding a seven-month-old baby." The ACLU is planning a news conference Monday, with Loxas' relatives and ACLU attorneys representing them, Soler said.

The officer who pulled the trigger, James Peters, 37, had been involved in six previous fatal shootings, according to the Scottsdale Police Department. Peters was placed on administrative leave following the shooting, which is standard procedure, and the department began a use-of-force investigation.

A Public Safety Personnel Retirement System in June granted Peters, 37, a $4,500 a month disability retirement plan. It was unclear late Sunday if the Arizona State Retirement System had subsequently approved the retirement.

The status of investigations into the shooting also could not be established Sunday.

Peters was one of six officers who responded to 9-1-1 calls from neighbors who said Loxas was threatening them with a gun in the 7700 block of East Garfield Street, near Hayden and McKellips roads.

According to one 911 call, the neighbors said Loxas was pushing his 9-month-old grandson in a stroller when he 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," said Scottsdale Police Sgt. Mark Clark, a spokesman. "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."

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.

A search warrant yielded a loaded pistol "a few feet from where the suspect fell inside the residence," Clark said. "It was wedged between the arm and cushion of a chair a few feet away from where he fell."

It is the same pistol believed to have been used to threaten neighbors, he said. A loaded shotgun also was found near a chair a few feet from the pistol, Clark said. In addition, police found at least eight "Airsoft" type rifles and pistols, as well as "a functional improvised explosive device," he said.

Loxas lived in the house alone and baby-sat his grandson often, police said. The home was filled with garbage and clutter and a city inspector who went through the home after Loxas' death determined the home to be uninhabitable, Clark said.

In 2010, Scottsdale police were called to the house because Loxas was threatening neighbors with a pistol, police said. He has been arrested at least once, police said. The 911 caller told the dispatcher that this wasn't the first time that Loxas had pointed a gun at neighbors.

Several neighbors said that house parties were frequently held at the man's home, often lasting until 3 a.m. or later. Residents of two nearby homes said they had filed noise complaints with police.

Each of the previous shootings tied to Peters were deemed justified through an internal investigation as well as an external investigation by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

Peters' was linked to a fatal shooting in March 2010. In that case, Peters shot and killed a man suspected in a string of bank robberies. At the time, The Republic reported that the city had settled in 2009 with the family of one of the people involved in a different fatal shooting for $75,000 but denied liability.

In another case, Peters was honored for his actions in responding to a hostage situation and the hostage thanked the officer for saving his life and shooting the hostage taker.

Peters also was involved in other shooting incidents, police said.

Nov. 3, 2002: Peters was one of three SWAT officers who fired at Albert Redford after a nearly four-hour standoff at Redford's north Scottsdale home. Officers had been called in relation to a report of domestic violence. Officers fired a total of seven shots, striking Redford three times.

March 25, 2003: Peters shot and killed Brent Bradshaw, 47, of Scottsdale. Officers had responded to shotgun blasts at Bradshaw's home. Three hours later, police found Bradshaw wandering along the Arizona Canal at Miller and Chaparral roads, carrying a shotgun. Officers tried unsuccessfully to get him to put down the gun.

Oct. 10, 2005: Peters shot and killed Mark Wesley Smith, a burglary suspect, during a confrontation outside an auto-body shop near Hayden and McKellips roads. Smith was smashing car windows in a rage outside the body shop. Autopsy reports would later show that he was high on methamphetamine.

April 23, 2006: Peters shot and killed Brian Daniel Brown, 28, who took a Safeway employee hostage after Brown hijacked a Krispy Kreme delivery truck in Peoria. Peters received a Medal of Valor for this incident in June 2007.

Aug. 30, 2006: Peters and Officer Tom Myers fatally shot Kevin Hutchings after Hutchings fired at least one round at police outside his northeast Mesa home. Scottsdale police were trying to talk to Hutchings about a Scottsdale assault that evening of a longtime acquaintance of Hutchings. Hutchings' family sued the city and eventually settled out of court for $75,000, city officials said.

Feb. 17, 2010: Peters and Scottsdale Detective Scott Galbraith shot Jimmy Hammack Jr., 46, after Hammack drove his truck toward detectives who were investigating him as a suspect in three Scottsdale bank robberies and two in Phoenix. Hammack later died of his injuries.

On Feb. 17, Ryan McKinnon, vice president of the Scottsdale Fraternal Order of Police, released the following:

"The night of February 14, 2012, was deeply tragic, as is any encounter that results in the loss of a life. Just as every police-involved shooting is investigated thoroughly and objectively, so will the events of February 14 be investigated.

"The more than 325 members of the Scottsdale Fraternal Order of Police hope that, as we await the results of that investigation, calm will prevail in our City and no one will rush to judgment about what happened that night or about our colleague, Officer James Peters.

"We remind all concerned that justice has at its core facts, not emotions, and that every Scottsdale police officer considers the use of force the most critical decision any law enforcement member can make.

"No officer begins a shift knowing how the night will end. But tonight, as they have since (Feb. 14) our thoughts and our prayers go out to everyone touched by the night in question, from Jim Peters and his family to the Loxas family to the neighbors impacted by what happened before their eyes."