Critical Incident Briefing About January 8th At 52nd Avenue And Baseline Road In City Of Phoenix

Press release from the City of Phoenix:

January 21, 2022

WARNING: The attached video may contain strong language as well as graphic images which may be disturbing to some people. Viewer discretion is advised.

The Phoenix Police Department released a Critical Incident Briefing (CIB) video that includes audio, visuals and information related to an officer-involved shooting (OIS) which occurred on January 8, 2022 in the area 52nd Avenue and Baseline Road.

This incident occurred just after midnight, when a witness called 911 to report a man breaking into a business that was closed at the time. The man was later identified as 26-year old Matthew Bia.

Video surveillance from the business showed Bia unsuccessfully attempt to break the glass door of the business for almost 2 minutes.

After unsuccessful attempts, Bia returned two minutes later with an object and was able to break the glass and enter the store.

Once inside the closed business, Bia walked around, and attempted to manipulate the registers.

When the first officer arrived, he parked his vehicle at the front of the store. He saw Bia inside of the business and attempted to speak to him.

The officer gave Bia commands to come out of the store, but he refused.

After a few moments, Bia, with his left hand on his head, moved his right hand to his waistline, and turned sideways so that his right side was away from the officer.

He then extended his hand and arm quickly from his waist, towards the officer. That is when the officer involved shooting occurred. The officer fired one round, and Bia fell to the ground, but it was later determined he was not struck by the bullet.

After the shooting, Bia continued to extend his arm out toward the officer.

After about 4 minutes he complied with officers, crawled out of the store and laid on the ground.

Officers moved towards Bia and placed him under arrest. No weapon was found on or around Bia.

Bia was not injured by the shot; he did suffer minor injuries to his hands from the broken glass door.

Bia was booked into jail for aggravated assault on an officer, burglary, and criminal damage.

The officer involved in this shooting has been with the department for about two years and is assigned to the South Mountain Precinct.

Conclusions about whether the actions of the officers are consistent with department policy and the law will not be made until all facts are known and the investigation is complete. An internal investigation by the Professional Standard Bureau is currently underway, in addition to a criminal investigation. Once the criminal investigation is complete it will then be reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

Public records law required redaction of certain personal identifying information before video is released publicly. That is why you may see some parts of Body Worn Camera (BWC) blurred or covered with a black box. Redacted video is released to local media in conjunction with the release of this Critical Incident Briefing for independent review and publication. Complete, unedited versions of the BWC are released to attorneys and the courts as evidence in a criminal case.

This press release was produced by City of Phoenix. The views expressed here are the author’s own.