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Gut-wrenching bodycam video shows SWAT officers fatally shoot suspect after he pointed loaded gun at police dog
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Gut-wrenching bodycam video shows SWAT officers fatally shoot suspect after he pointed loaded gun at police dog

Bodycam video shows the disturbing moment when Arizona cops fatally shoot a man after he pointed a loaded gun at a police dog.

Tucson Police Department SWAT officers were conducting surveillance on 49-year-old Francisco Javier Galarza. Police were tracking Galarza – who had active felony arrest warrants for a home invasion and bank robbery.

At 11:51 a.m. on Aug. 25, Tucson SWAT police spotted Galarza at a Circle K convenience store. The suspect exited the store.

"He's out, just say when," an officer is heard saying in the bodycam footage. Another officer responds, "Take him here."

Police officers confronted Galarza in the store's parking lot, and he immediately ran away.

Officers yell at the fleeing suspect, “Police! Get down! Police! Get down!”

Cops chase Galazra with guns drawn.

Officer Barrie Pedersen released his police dog named Kiro. The K-9 trips up the suspect, and he falls to the ground. The police dog bites Galarza in the leg.

Galarza then pulls out a handgun and points it at the dog's head.

Tucson Police Department Officers Ernest Ortiz and Pedersen responded by opening fire on the armed suspect. Galarza dropped the firearm.

Officers attempted life-saving procedures, but Galarza was pronounced dead at the scene.

Galarza had in his possession a Taurus G3 9mm semi-automatic with ammunition in the magazine and one round in the chamber.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department and Marana Police Department have launched a criminal investigation into the police shooting. The Tucson Police Department's Office of Professional Standards will conduct a separate, parallel investigation into the fatal shooting.

Ortiz is a 17-year Tucson Police Department veteran, and Pedersen is a 15-year veteran.

Galarza has a lengthy criminal history, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections.

"In 1992, he was sentenced to three years in prison as part of the shock incarceration program, KOLD-TV reported. "In 1994, he was convicted of drug possession and was sentenced to four years."

The outlet reported that Galarza was convicted of vehicle theft in 2000 and was convicted on six counts of armed robbery armed. In 2001, he was convicted of armed robbery again and received an 11-year jail sentence.

In 2011, Galarza was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 7 years.

The Pima Regional Critical Incident Team released bodycam video of the deadly police shooting on Monday.

(WARNING: Graphic video)

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