Multiple witness videos appear to show an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper finishing a traffic stop while bystanders plead for him to help a nearby child who had been shot in the backseat of a car.
A 5-year-old boy, who later died from the gunshot wound, was less than a block away from where the motorcycle trooper was conducting the traffic stop.
The child was in a car that had been shot up at a different location. The teenage driver of the vehicle drove to 52nd Street and Broadway after the car was riddled with bullets and stopped in the middle of the intersection.
Scott Jacobs, who witnessed the entire situation, said he thinks the driver stopped at the location after they saw the police lights and assumed law enforcement would rush to help the injured child in the car. Video from the incident reveals that is not what happened.
Just before midnight Friday, Darien Barrett and Jacobs were recording a DPS Trooper conducting a traffic stop. Both are well-known 'cop watchers' who routinely videotape Valley law enforcement.
The interaction starts off cordially but quickly devolves into a chaotic and emotional scene.
A minute after the faint sound of gunfire is heard in the distance, a black car drives into the middle of the intersection, roughly 100 yards away. The driver was laying on the horn as they parked in the middle of the crowded intersection. Seconds later, multiple people jump out and take off running.
"Hey we got an accident or some sort of road rage over here officer," Barrett can be heard remarking to the trooper.
"Why don't you guys step in and..." the trooper responded while continuing to issue his citation.
"Step in? What the [expletive]?" Barrett screamed back. "You're an officer, go over and do something. This is petty!"
Barrett and Jacobs did step in though. Both walked over to the car to check if everyone was alright. They quickly realized the horrific reality of the situation.
"There's a gunshot in this window and there's a child right here," yelled Barrett from the vehicle, back towards the direction of the trooper, who is still wearing a helmet.
Seconds later, the men and another nearby witness discover a 5-year-old boy shot in the backseat. The screams for help and desperate pleas for the 'stay alive sweetie' begin.
"Call the cop!" another witness screams. "There's a [expletive] kid shot in there."
Two and a half minutes after the car pulled into the intersection Barrett runs back to the trooper.
"Officer we have a kid down in the backseat. There's at least four shots in the window," Barrett relays from feet away.
The trooper appears to relay the information over his radio but does not stop the traffic stop to rush over the vehicle or dying child.
Jacobs tells ABC15 he was incredulous, furious, and anxious watching the trooper fail to rush over.
"It was just panic because you wanted to help these children, but it was also chaos because help was right there. Help was 10 seconds away, just walking," said Jacobs.
Four minutes after the bullet-riddled car stopped the trooper finishes issuing the citation, and can be seen on video closing his laptop, calmly putting on his gloves, and driving a couple of seconds over to the car and child.
As that was happening, Barrett was on the phone with 911.
"I had to run to the vehicle because the officer didn't want to do nothing," said Barrett. "He's just now approaching the vehicle."
Jacobs told ABC15 he is going to file a complaint with DPS against the trooper.
"I mean, when we talk about dereliction of duty, this is the definition of it. And I don't know what the laws are or what the charges are for that. But he should not be allowed to retain his position," said Jacobs.
Tempe PD has said two other children were injured when the car was shot at, both kids are expected to survive and are already out of the hospital.
There have still been no arrests in the murder.
DPS has not released the trooper's name or said if he will face any sort of internal investigation or if the trooper will go on administrative leave.
The department did share the following written statement:
“The Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZ DPS) has received numerous citizen and media inquiries regarding a video on social media depicting one of our troopers on a routine traffic stop and his subsequent response to the aftermath of an unrelated shooting incident. For context, it must be noted the shooting did not occur at the intersection depicted in the video.
This video was recorded on Friday, March 17, 2023, at approximately 11:30 PM, in the area of Broadway Road and 52nd Street in the city of Tempe. The Tempe Police Department is investigating this tragic shooting incident in which a small child lost his life, and two other juveniles were injured.
Due to the allegations in the social media posting the Department is reviewing this incident.”
