Sheriff says officers had no choice about using deadly force

PHOENIX (AP) - Two officers who fatally shot a man after he threw a four-pound wrench at them had no choice about using deadly force, the sheriff of metro Phoenix said Wednesday.

Deputies had done all they could Friday to calm 39-year-old Juan Torres outside his family’s home in suburban Buckeye, Sheriff Paul Penzone said.

However, Torres refused to drop the wrench and a ball-peen hammer, and officers fired their guns after he hurled a wrench at one officer who ducked but was still struck in the back of his neck, the sheriff said.

“They did everything within their powers,” Penzone said at a news conference.

Ricardo Torres acknowledged that his son Juan had drug problems in the past and said he was having a mental breakdown. The family had been trying for about a week to get him psychological help, and he had expressed a desire to go to rehab, the father said.

Ricardo Torres said he doesn’t know why his son put up a fight.

“It just gets to a point to where he gets frustrated, and he can’t control himself. He gets mad,” Torres said, his voice cracking with emotion. “He wanted to get help, and he couldn’t get the damn help he needed. That’s why he was mad.”

Ricardo Torres, who witnessed the shooting, said his son didn’t deserve to be killed and that officers should have tried to talk to him more before firing shots.

It’s unknown whether Juan Torres was impaired during the encounter, Penzone said.

Deputies were called to the home after Juan Torres’ sister told a 911 operator that her brother was trying to hurt people.

Body-camera video from one of the officers shows Torres standing a distance from the officers and swinging the tools.

“Put those down, put them down,” one officer calmly said. Someone can be heard telling Torres that they love him and want him to get help.

“No, I’m not going to calm down,” Torres said.

The two officers, whose identities Penzone declined to release, fired 11 shots at Torres after he walked within a short distance of the officers, ignored a command to drop the tools and struck one officer with the wrench.

Penzone said officers had been called to the Torres home on other occasions, including April 7 when Torres was threatening and irrational, but his behavior didn’t escalate to the point of a crime.

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Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud.