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Officer cleared by Phoenix police board in homeowner shooting
A Phoenix police officer who mistakenly shot an armed homeowner during a search for an intruder was cleared of wrongdoing this week by a committee that reviews such shootings.
The ruling by the Phoenix Use of Force Board determined Officer Brian Lilly acted within police policy in the incident, in which he fired six shots at the homeowner amid the confusion of a home invasion last September.
The shooting hospitalized homeowner Tony Arambula, who earlier this year sought a $5.75 million settlement in Phoenix Sgt. Sean Coutts were named in a lawsuit filed last week in Maricopa County Superior Court.
Arambula, 36, was armed and holding a suspect at bay when he suffered gunshot wounds to his back and arm, according to the complaint.
Arambula claimed Lilly shot him twice as he lay bleeding on the floor of his living room, his wife and two young sons nearby.
The suspect, Angel Anastacio Canales, had broken into Arambula's home near 32nd Street and Thomas Road as officers tracked him from a "shots-fired" call in the area.
Arambula had the gunman cornered in his 12-year-old son's room when the officer opened fire.
"This is the type of thing that so severely demeans the credibility of these (police) review boards," said Michael Manning, the attorney representing Arambula.
"Physically, it would have been impossible for (Lilly) to see Tony's face or the gun," he said. "They admit on the 911 call that they didn't warn him."
Officer Jerry Gannon, Lilly's representative from the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, said it took less than one minute from when officers entered the home searching for a Hispanic male suspect to the when Lilly reacted to seeing Arambula holding a gun.
Gannon and other members of the organization's board said the shooting was difficult to avoid, considering the fluidity of the emergency scene.
"If Brian would have known there was a homeowner in there, he probably would have hesitated," Gannon said, "but if he had hesitated, and it was the (suspect), the outcome could have been tragic."
Phoenix Public Safety Manager Jack Harris will review the Use of Force Board's ruling and make an official determination on Lilly's shooting.
by Michael Ferraresi - Sept. 26, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic