PHOENIX — In two different high-profile and chaotic Phoenix police shootings, officers shouted "show me your hands" but never shouted "police” to clearly identify themselves before opening fire.
A retired NYPD detective sergeant turned criminal justice instructor says the cases raise serious questions about police training and that identifying yourself as an officer in a high-stress situation should be automatic.
“From the beginning, you know, you're told, ‘We are the police, and we're giving you an order now,’” said Felipe Rodriguez, a professor with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "But ‘just show me your hands,’ that could be anybody. And I think we really need to have a hard look at this training.”
The two shootings separately involved Dr. Kris Johnson, who police shot from behind, and Christian Diaz, who was killed.
Attorneys for both men said they did not know police were present.
In June 2022, Johnson fired a warning shot straight into the air after seeing bright flood lights blocking the road to his neighborhood, worried about a prowler who had just been at his front door. He didn't know Phoenix police were already on scene, called by neighbors who had reported the same man, who ended up being a documented gang member with multiple previous convictions.
In January 2026, Diaz was fighting off an armed intruder who had broken into his home when an officer arrived, shouted "show me your f***ing hands," and fired less than a second later.
"You got to remember, too, during a high-end situation where people are amped up, adrenaline is flowing, we will have auditory exclusion, which is, you know, what our hearing becomes diminished, our vision could be diminished,” Rodriguez. “So we have to train for that, and you know, give those extra commands.”
Johnson, a trauma surgeon, who Phoenix police and county prosecutors are aggressively prosecuting, admits firing the warning shot into the night was wrong. But he panicked when he saw a set of bright white floodlights blocking the road in and out of the neighborhood.
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The officers also did not have their red and blue lights flashing.
If Johnson had seen them or heard officers identify themselves, he said he would have turned around and gone back inside his house.
“That would have been it. They're here. They got the guy. They'll sort it out from here. Thank you,” he said.
Attorney David Chami, who represents the Diaz family, said the failure to identify may have been fatal.
"I do think if he said, 'Hey, it's the Phoenix police, show me your hands, and gave Christian an opportunity to actually do that, he'd probably still be alive. We probably wouldn't be here right now," Chami said.
The Phoenix Police Department is declining to comment on how officers handled the shootings.
But officials said the officers’ actions in the Johnson shooting were found to be within policy, and the Diaz shooting remains under internal investigation.
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
This digital article was produced with the assistance of AI and converted to this platform based on the broadcast story written and reported by ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
