| Jose Guerena shooting incident | |
|---|---|
| Location | Tucson, Arizona |
| Date | May 5, 2011 9:30 am (MST) |
| Attack type | Shooting |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Injured | 0 |
| Victim | Jose Guerena |
| Perpetrator(s) | Pima County SWAT officers |
| Jose Manuel Guerena Ortiz[1] | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 23, 1984 Nogales, Sonora |
| Died | May 5, 2011 (aged 26) Tucson, Arizona |
| Cause of death | Gunfire from botched SWAT raid |
| Body discovered | May 5, 2011 |
| Residence | Tucson, Arizona |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Mexican American |
Jose Guerena was a U.S. Marine veteran who served in the Iraq War who was killed in his Tucson, Arizona home, on May 5, 2011, by officers of the Pima County SWAT team, while they were conducting a forced entry search of his home.
Asleep after returning from a 12-hour overnight shift at the ASARCO Mission mine, Guerena was awakened about 9:30 AM by his wife who heard noises outside their house, later identified as flash/bang grenades deployed by police in the back yard as a diversion.[2] He instructed his wife and 4-year-old son to hide inside a closet while he grabbed his AR-15 rifle and crouched down preparing to defend himself from whomever was breaking into his home. The Sheriff's Department initially claimed Guerena had fired on officers; at least three of the SWAT members including the team commander reported in their post-operation debriefings that they had observed muzzle flashes aimed at them from inside the house.[3] Other officers stated they saw splinters from the doorjamb being hit by bullets. The shots that caused this were determined to come from other members of the SWAT team.[4] "There were five officers at the door beginning to make entry into this home, when they engaged this individual that they believed was actually firing at them."[5] Other versions of this story claim that officers started shooting after Guerena pointed the gun at them, though under questioning they were initially unsure whether he had actually moved to target them.[3] At this point the five person team fired 71 rounds at Guerena in seven seconds, who died after being hit 22 times.[6][7] An investigation revealed that Jose had not fired his weapon. The AR-15 rifle Guerena pointed toward officers was found loaded, but with the safety engaged.
An ambulance and Lifeline helicopter were on standby during the raid, and Guerena's wife called 911 to request medical assistance for her husband shortly after the shooting. Paramedics, however, were instructed to hold back. Gurerena was denied attention, about one hour, until team declared "area secured". (Later reports are he bled to death in about 4 minutes). Ambulance crews were then notified they were no longer needed, one hour and fourteen minutes after Guerena's wife's call to 911.[6][8] An official autopsy report was released on 6 June. It confirmed that Guerena had been shot 22 times, including one grazing shot to the head. No drugs were found in his system. The medical examiner expressed doubts that medics could have saved Guerena, even if they had reached him quickly. The report also notes that the body showed "no evidence of medical intervention."[9]
Officers did not find any evidence related to drug trafficking at Guerena's residence. Police did report that one AR-15, one .38 handgun, body armor, and a US Border Patrol cap were confiscated, though none of these items are illegal to own.[6][10][11][12] The search of three other houses and a storage unit rented by Guerena's mother as part of the same warrant discovered weapons, a bag of marijuana, a stolen vehicle, and accounting ledgers allegedly related to drug trafficking operations.[7] As of November 7, 2011, none of these searches has yet resulted in any arrest(s).[13]
A computer search revealed Guerena had no history of criminal convictions.[4] Mr Guerena had been arrested in January 2009 after being involved in a traffic stop with two other individuals where a gun and a small amount or marijuana were found, however he was not charged.[14][15] In the Affidavit used to justify this search warrant, Pima Detective Alex Tisch "claimed" Guerena had "five felony arrests involving drugs" but no convictions.[16]
The Pima County Sheriff's department claimed that this was not a no-knock search, which was supported by video evidence showing that the SWAT team attempted to make its presence known for 7 seconds before knocking down the door. Audio notifications included claims of the sounding a siren in the driveway of the Guerena's residence for 8 seconds, as well as shouting "Police!" and "Search Warrant!" at the front door; although interviews with neighbors and Mrs. Guerena reported they did not hear anything. The SWAT team also was listening to music from one of the cars and possibly could not hear voices from house over it.[2][17] Guerena's widow states that she had no knowledge that the man she saw pointing a gun at her through the window was a police officer, and thought that he was part of a home invasion group. She has stated that two members of her sister-in-law's family were killed previously in a home invasion.[18] As of May 2011, that case, in which Cynthia and Manny Orozco were killed and their 2-year-old daughter seriously injured, remains unsolved.[19]
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik had a judge seal the search warrants as well as the documents showing what items were seized from the home, and later chastised the press for wanting to know the details of the case. Sheriff Dupnik stated this was to protect the identity of a confidential informant.[4][20] On June 2, 2011 the Pima County Superior Court released the warrants and other information related to the raid. Some of the information was censored to protect the identity of a confidential informant.[14]
As of May 2011, members of the SWAT team retained criminal defense attorney Michael Storie to represent them. On 13 June, the Pima County Attorney's office released the results of their review of the shooting, determining that the SWAT officers' actions "were reasonable". "Under the circumstances, and based upon our review of all the available evidence, we have concluded that the use of deadly forces by the SWAT Team members was reasonable and justified under the law. Accordingly, the Pima County Attorney's Office finds no basis to prosecute," according to the ruling on the raid by Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall.[21][22]
Pima County Republican Party chairman Brian Miller questioned the killing of Guerena, and the SWAT policies that lead to it, as did former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack, who once served with Dupnik.[23]
Six months after the raids and the killing, none of the targets of the raids have been arrested. It was revealed that none of the suspects in the raids had been observed handling, or even near, narcotic substances, in six months of constant police surveillance.[24]
On August 12, it was announced that the family of Jose Guerena filed an intention to sue the Pima County, Sheriff Dupnik, and all the officers who shot Guerena or were part of the raid, offering to settle for $20 million. The lawsuit cites that the officers acted with neligence when they failed to announce themselves and put Guerena's wife and son in danger, and willingly deprived Guerena of medical attention after he was shot, leading up to his death, and violated his civil rights. The lawyer for the family says the lawsuit is meant to hold those accountable for Guerena's death and send a message to officers who have unlawfully killed citizens. The lawyer for the officers, however, says that the lawsuit is only to cause more hysteria and the amount is excessive since the officers had already been cleared of wrongdoing.
As the parties involved in killing Guerena did not settle, the family proceeded to file a lawsuit on November 1. The suit named Pima County, Marana, Sahuarita, Oro Valley,[25] and all SWAT operators involved in the killing. The suit covers claims of negligence in the procurement of the search warrant, in the shooting, and in the failure to provide medical attention.[26]
A remembrance rally was held at the home on Memorial Day to protest the killing.[27]