An armed man and a police dog were shot and wounded Sunday night during a confrontation with officers at Gene C. Reid Park, Tucson police say.
The incident started about 8:30 p.m. when police say they were called to the southern portion of the park at East 22nd St. and South Country Club Road for βreports of an adult male in crisis,β the department said Monday in a news release.
The man told dispatchers he had a gun.
Mental health professionals stayed on the phone trying to de-escalate the situation as patrol officers rushed to the park, the news release said.
As officers arrived, more calls to 911 told police there was gunfire in the park, police said.
Hostage negotiators tried to talk to the man while the park and surrounding area were evacuated, and the SWAT team arrived, the release said.
A police dog was let loose when the man moved into an open area of the park. Both the gunman and police opened fire, and both he and the police dog were shot, the release said.
The man was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said.
The police dog was in stable condition at an animal hospital, the release said.
The multi-agency Pima Regional Critical Incident Team is handling the criminal investigation. A separate internal probe into the handling of the incident also is being conducted.
Both are standard procedure in shootings that involve officers.
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