By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• A Coolidge, Arizona, police officer fatally shot a man who charged at officers with a machete outside the police station during a domestic disturbance call Feb. 5.
• The officer and a woman were speaking when 54-year-old Francisco Canales Aguilar approached with the machete.
• Body-worn and security video show Aguilar ignoring repeated commands to drop the weapon before running at the officer.
• Aguilar died at the scene; no officers were reported injured.
• The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident as an officer-involved shooting.
COOLIDGE, AZ — A Coolidge police officer shot and killed a man armed with a machete who ran at officers during a domestic disturbance call Thursday evening, authorities said.
The incident began about 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 when a Coolidge officer was speaking with a woman outside the police station on Palo Verde Avenue about her vehicle’s damaged windshield, according to video released by the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.
Surveillance and body-worn camera footage show 54-year-old Francisco Canales Aguilar leave his home carrying a machete, drive to the scene and approach the officer, swinging the blade and striking it on the ground.
Despite repeated orders to drop the weapon, Aguilar continued to advance toward the officer, who fired multiple times, striking him; Aguilar was later pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
No officers were reported injured in the encounter. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has taken over the investigation of the officer-involved shooting, and further details are expected as the inquiry continues.