A Tucson Police officer killed a man experiencing "auditory hallucinations" on Tucson's east side last week after the man pointed a gun first at himself, then at officers, officials said.Β
On March 29, around 5 a.m., someone at the Hampton Park Apartment Homes complex on Old Spanish Trail near South Camino Seco called 911 about 27-year-old Eric Putnam, who was "having auditory hallucinations and access to a firearm," a press release from the Pima Critical Incident Response team said.
When Tucson police arrived, they made contact with the 911 caller and learned Putnam was acting erratically and could be a danger to himself or others.
Police made phone contact with Putnam before he reportedly became agitated and hung up. Officers then went to engage Putnam in the patio area of an apartment.
According to the police account, as officers approached, they ordered Putnam multiple times to show his hands. Putnam reportedly pointed a gun at himself, then at officers, before Officer Steven Clark shot him.
Officers rendered aid before Putnam was pronounced dead at the scene, the report states.
Clark is a five-year veteran of the Tucson Police Department.
No officers or community members were hurt during the incident, police confirmed last week.
The Pima Regional Critical Incident Team, a multi-agency taskforce, has taken over the criminal investigation, and the Pima County Sheriffβs Department is the lead investigating agency.
