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Man shot 6 times by police to file suit against Phoenix
Homeowner mistakenly targeted by officer seeks $5.75 mil
by Ofelia Madrid - Mar. 18, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
A man mistakenly shot six times in his home last September by a Phoenix police officer filed a notice of claim against the city Monday seeking $5.75 million in damages for himself and his family.
Phoenix Officer Brian Lilly shot Tony Arambula on Sept. 17 after Phoenix police responded to an early evening call about an intruder in Arambula's central Phoenix home, the claim states.
A Phoenix police spokesman declined Tuesday to comment on any aspect of the shooting or the pending litigation, but confirmed that Lilly had returned to work after being placed on temporary administrative leave.
The notice of claim filed by Michael Manning, Arambula's attorney, names the city, its police department, Lilly and two other officers. Manning has successfully sued local police agencies in the past over use of excessive force.
Arambula accuses Lilly and the department in his claim of recklessly using excessive force against him and trying to “callously cover it up.” Arambula, 35, gave this account on Tuesday:
The evening of the shooting, Arambula was sitting on his couch watching cartoons with his 2-year-old son when shots were fired through his living room window. Thinking it was a drive-by shooting, he grabbed his son and crawled away from his window.
His wife, Lesley, ran from a bedroom to see what was going on. Arambula handed the 2-year-old to her. By that time, an intruder – later identified Angel Anastacio Canales – had broken in through the living room window.
With a 9 millimeter gun in his hand, he ran into his 12-year-old son's room.
Tony Arambula, a licensed gun owner, grabbed his own gun and followed Canales into the bedroom. His son was hiding in the closet. Canales was trying to crawl underneath the boy's bed.
Holding the intruder at bay, Arambula ordered Mathew to find his mother and call 911. Arambula also called 911, telling the operator that he was holding the man at gunpoint.
Meanwhile, officers already chasing Canales arrived in the Arambulas' backyard. Lesley and her boys were outside. “I told them my husband was inside, he was the one with the gun,'' she said Tuesday. She pleaded, “Please don't shoot.”
The officers entered the house with a shout of “Police!” Almost immediately, Lilly shot Tony Arambula in the back, spinning him around. Three more shots were fired at him, one hitting him in the arm. When Arambula fell to the floor, the claim asserts, Lilly shot him two more times.
The shot in back left a gaping exit wound in Arambula's abdomen that was large enough to fit an eight-ounce cup, the claim charges. That's when Arambula told Lilly he'd shot the wrong man. There was an eerie quiet, Arambula recalled.
Later, in his Internal Affairs interview, Lilly admitted firing at Arambula without any verbal warning, according to the claim. A tape of the 911 call cited in the claim quotes Lilly as telling his supervisor moments later, “We (expletive) up.”
Sgt. Sean Coutts asked Lilly where Arambula's gun was when he fired.
“I don't know,'' Lilly responded, according to the claim. “I heard screaming and I fired.”
Coutts reportedly responded, “That's all right. Don't worry about it. I got your back….We clear?” according to a transcript reproduced in the claim.
Canales was apprehended peacefully.
Arambula's eyes filled with tears Tuesday as he described officers dragging him outside by his left leg. He said he pleaded with officers not to let his family to see him die.
“I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make it,” he said.
A hospital stay of almost a week was followed by two months of at-home care. Today, he wears a brace on his left hand and there are two metal brackets holding his arm to his hand. Doctors have told him that he will have pain for the rest of his life.
Arambula said Tuesday that he did everything he was supposed to in that situation.
“I would have loved if they would have told me to get on the floor and drop to my knees,” Arambula said. “To not have given me any opportunity to not get shot, it's confusing. I pray that this never happens to another family.”
The only Police response to date has been that they were "justified" as Officer Lilly was fearful for "his" life.
