Tell us what you think of this article. Take a short survey.
Officers forced to shoot man who fires at them
Phoenix Police attempted to negotiate with a man who had been drinking and reportedly fired shots at the vehicles of two men who had purchased his foreclosed home earlier in the day.
The incident occurred at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at the residence located in the 16400 block of 31st Drive in Phoenix. When officers arrived, they found the suspect, Kurt Aho, 64, standing in the cul de sac; a gun was in his hand. Negotiators tried to get Mr. Aho to drop his weapon, but he failed to comply with their commands. During negotiations, officers learned that Mr. Aho had become upset when the two men informed him of the purchase of his home; he went inside and returned with a handgun. As the two men fled on foot, Mr. Aho fired at least four bullets into their vehicles.
At one point during negotiations, Mr. Aho went back inside his home, giving officers an opportunity to deploy an armored vehicle called a "Bearcat” used to protect officers in this type of situation. When Mr. Aho came back outside, he was still armed and approached the Bearcat in a threatening manner, officers tried to subdue him with rubber bullets that unfortunately had no affect. When Mr. Aho fired his weapon at the officers, they were forced to return fire and he was struck; Mr. Aho died at the scene.