911 Call Preserves Shooting, Now a Lawsuit

A Phoenix (Ariz.) homeowner’s 911 call to police is the primary evidence presented in a civil suit filed by the caller and his family against the police department, claiming an officer mistaken shot the man and the department then tried to cover up the error. Anthony Arambula was holding a burglary suspect at gunpoint and was talking to dispatcher, while outside police were already looking for the intruder after he fired shots and broke into a nearby home. Arambula says his wife warned a sergeant outside that he was holding the intruder at bay, and that his gun was always pointed at the suspect. But police say Arambula pointed the gun at them, prompting an officer to fire six shots. Much of the lawsuit is based on conversations that were picked up by the logging recorder for the 911 call. Read a full account of the lawsuit and incident here.