This cop has quite a record.
 

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."

Well, obviously he's a damn good shot!

Usually they empty X (insert number of your choice) magazines and only manage to wound bystanders.

I say - give him full retirement and make him the Police Firing-Range Master.

Yep, and counter sue the anti-American aclu..

Sounds more like a very effective Cop, who eliminates Threats very effectively...

If someone dies while committing a crime, the families shouldn't be able to sue and profit off it.

If the city paid out $75k per justified shooting, Mr. Peters probably, in the end, saved the city $millions in court and incarceration costs. The man is a gosh dang hero.

What I don't understand is how this Loxas character was still free when he seemed to make a habit out of brandishing a weapon at his neighbors. I'm suprised the neighbors didn't take care of that before the cops arrived.

or better yet..make him the support counselor for policeman to talk to after fatal shootings.

his advice can be: "meh, it gets easier each time..be patient"

i've read most cops dont even pull their pistols over the duration of a career..maybe times are changing.

Had an Officer in Seattle like that in the late '70's......I knew him, a great guy. Worked in an aggressive manner and was always the 1st on scene when things went bad.......The stress got to him early on and he left the Dept. - still at a young age.......Sad deal.........

QUOTE: "..most cops dont even pull their pistols over the duration of a career"
______________________

"A man has got to know his limitations."

* LT. Harry Callahan ( spoken to an empty chair. )

Several of the shootings sound legitimate BUT in this case. They shot an unarmed man who answered the door of his own home. He was carrying a baby and doesn,t sound like he threatened the officers. The cop was already drawing a bead on him with a rifle from the sidewalk so he had already decided he was dangerous/guilty without the bother of a trial or even a chance to deny he did anything wrong.

Oh, I don't know. Assuming the reporting here is correct:

1) police were responding to a MWAG call, so heightened tension and gunplay are very likely
2) suspect ignored their commands and retreated to house
3) he then reached for something while retreating.

This might even be suicide by cop. Why would you reach for a cell phone when the cops have guns trained on you? To call the cops? Cancel dinner reservations?

If there were any negligence on the part of the police, I'd say it was shooting a guy holding a baby, when he could have easily fallen on top of the kid and killed it. As it turns out, he had two loaded guns nearby and very likely was retreating to grab one of them. We're all better off without this scumbag.

I hope you're both kidding... The cop is a coward. Yes, they guy was dangerous, but you don't shoot unarmed citizens... ...and at this point the cop had no proof he was actually using the pistol.

What if the caller was a liar and this guy was just a sleepy dad? Yeah, it's a stretch, but this shot was conviction without trial.

I agree with #1 but nowhere in the report is there any mention of him refusing orders#2 or reaching for something #3 .He already had the phone in his hand and was inside his own home. He voluntarily answered the door

I'd like to buy him a beer. He's too busy shooting bad guys to write tickets.

Note that the cops found all these weapons riiiiight where he fell. What a coincidence! And what a slob - living in an uninhabitable home - of course he needed killing - at 18 feet (!) with a rifle, nevertheless.

G

If he had an IED, I think the officer did the right thing.

Also found after the head shot. I'd like to know what constitutes and IED in a home setting?

And I don't care that it may have turned out a good call - it could also have turned out the guy was just deranged, the neighbors made stuff up and didn't have a weapon in the whole house. OOOPS.

G

Are you suggesting the cops planted the guns they found AFTER the neighbor claimed he had pointed it at him? Do you think they carry around a prop bag for such occasions? There were a lot of cops on the scene and I doubt the blue wall is that air tight. I hope no neighbor of mine ever claims I pointed a gun at them. Who knows if the cops will just plant a few near by dead body? Sheesh.

How many loaded guns do you have in your house (nearby) ? Legally owned and not in your hand or pointed at a police officer? ( ,probably no need for a prop bag there).

You couldn't pay me to turn and walk away from police who were holding rifles pointed at me, much less get me to reach in my pocket and pull out any object. Most likely I would stand stock still and do exactly as I was told.

cops are known to plant guns on people - maybe not this guy, but who knows

Sheesh

mentos and diet coke?