Tucson police have identified the officer who killed a man during a struggle after responding to a reported burglary Sunday morning, officials said.ย
Officer Joshua Camacho shot Carlos Vale, 31, during a fight between Vale, Camacho and second officer. Vale was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident started about 12:45 a.m. at a home in the 100 block of Calle Vida Nueva, near West Drexel Road and South 12th Avenue, said Sgt. Pete Dugan, Tucson Police Department spokesman.
A car with several people fled the area as officers arrived. Occupants matched the description of people involved in the burglary, police say.
Police stopped the car at West Drexel Road and South Mako Drive.
The driver pulled over and remained in the car, but at least three passengers ran away. Officers chased them, and passers-by at a nearby apartment complex at 5601 S. 12th Ave. told officers the people they were seeking ran into an apartment.
When officers arrived at the apartment, a middle-aged man answered the door. Officers told the man they were looking for teenage or young adult men.
The man said the people they were looking for were not there, but eventually allowed the officers to go inside and search, Dugan said. Several people in the apartment were hiding from the officers, though they apparently did not fit the description of the men that ran from the vehicle.ย
Officers arrested two men in the apartment, one for assaulting a police officer and the second one because he had an unrelated warrant.ย
Camacho and the other officer found Vale hiding in the bathroom. Vale and the two officers started to fight. Camacho, a 3 1/2-year police veteran, then fired his gun striking Vale.
The officers say they discovered Vale was armed with a handgun during the confrontation, but it is unclear Sunday whether he drew the weapon before being shot, Dugan said.
After the shooting, officers learned Vale had a felony warrant for his arrest from the U.S. Marshals Service.ย
The shooting is still being investigated.ย
Officers later learned the home they initially responded to for a burglary was an abandoned home, Dugan said.ย
No one has been identified or arrested in connection with the original burglary, Dugan said Sunday night in a news release.ย
Police are asking anyone with information to call 88-CRIME, the anonymous tipster line.
