TOLLESON, AZ — An unarmed man says Tolleson police shot him in “cold blood” over two stolen cans of beer, and records show he wasn’t the right person.
The allegations are detailed in a new $135 million notice of claim sent to the City of Tolleson and two officers involved in the shooting.
Ricky Barron, 35, survived but, according to the claim, has undergone 26 surgeries and remains in a wheelchair. He also lost his big toe and part of his right foot.
The incident happened in March and was captured on police body camera video, a copy of which was shared with ABC15.
“Show me your hands. I’ll shoot your a***,” one of the Tolleson officers can be heard yelling on the body camera video.
The video shows seconds later, a shot is fired and then 31 more shots are fired by two Tolleson officers.
Less than a minute after the initial gunshots stop, the second officer fires the final round, according to the video.
Shortly after the shooting, both officers started looking for a gun, but police records state they “were unable to locate any firearms.”
“You don’t shoot first and then ask questions. It’s totally unacceptable,” said Phoenix Attorney Robert Pastor, who represents Barron.
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Buckeye police handled the criminal investigation, as is standard in cases involving officer-involved shootings. The police report said Tolleson officers tried to stop Barron because he had a stolen license plate, and his truck matched the car suspected in the theft of two cans of beer from a gas station.
“Even the stolen license plate doesn’t justify the use of deadly force. And certainly, the theft of two beers doesn’t justify the use of deadly force,” Pastor said.
According to the police report, Barron wasn’t the person officers were looking for, because the suspect in the gas station theft was a woman.
“And had they simply slowed down and assessed that this was, in fact, a male, that would have changed the entire set of circumstances,” Pastor said.
The notice of claim says, “Ricky Barron was unarmed, committed no crime, and presented no threat.”
The police report also says on the body camera video, “a male’s voice appears to come from the interior of the truck, and makes the statement, ‘I have a gun.’”
Barron’s attorney disputes that and points to part of the body camera video after Barron has been shot a dozen times.
“Where’s the gun at?” a Tolleson officer asks him.
“I don’t have one,” Barron says on the video.
The way he says it, “I don’t have one,” raises the question: Did officers first mishear what he said?
Again, police found no gun, and Barron was never charged with a crime in this case, according to law enforcement reports and the notice of claim.
The Buckeye police report also said the officer who fired the first shot said he saw a bright flash and heard a loud pop, but all officers could find was Ricky’s cell phone, which had its flashlight on.
ABC15 reached out to Tolleson Police for comment, and the agency said the findings of Buckeye’s criminal investigation were submitted to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for further review.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office cleared both officers.
Tolleson Police said it is conducting its own internal investigation, and both officers involved in the shooting are on active duty.
