Violent police encounter leaves one dead, two shot (warning intense video)

[RealityAdvocate]

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/video-shows-deadly-brawl-between-gaver-family-cops-arizona-walmart-n339746

Police released video Friday showing a parking lot brawl at an Arizona Walmart that left one suspect dead, and another suspect and officer shot.

The brawl broke out when eight officers from the Cottonwood Police Department responded to a call on Saturday, March 21 that a female Walmart employee had been physically assaulted when trying to enter a store restroom, according to a statement from police. When officers arrived, the suspects — identified by police as members of the Gaver family — were in the parking lot attacking a second store employee, and immediately began attacking officers who tried to break up the melee, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said.

The newly released video appears to show officers and suspects punching and kicking one another, and officers using Tasers, batons and pepper spray on several members of the Gaver family. An officer identified as Sgt. Jeremy Daniels appears to be on the ground in a struggle with a suspect over the officer's weapon. An officer identified as Officer Rick Hicks appears to shoot one man in the stomach before fatally shooting a man on top of Daniels.

Cottonwood Police Chief Jody Fanning said Daniels was disarmed and shot in the leg by Enoch Gaver, 21, who was in turn shot and killed by Hicks after Hicks shot David Gaver, 28.

[yeoman6987]

1. Whoa!

[BlueJazz]

2. From what I see, the Police had their hands full with these pricks.

[RealityAdvocate]

4. I wonder if they were sovereigns..

[xfundy]

5. They were True Christians™

We know they're christers by their luuuuuuuuv.

[RealityAdvocate]

22. Religious cults are scary

[Ex Lurker]

3. This was a family of traveling musicians who belonged to a Mormon splinter group

They were camping in the parking lot and had an altercation with one of the employees. That's how all this started.

[RealityAdvocate]

6. I wonder why they were so violent?

[pbmus]

7. have you ever traveled on americas roads recently, they would make anyone crazy ...nt

[TorchTheWitch]

8. I'm guessing very bad drugs had a lot to do with it

Bunch of crazies.

[csziggy]

9. I was wondering if they had a meth lab in the restroom or in the parking lot?

Since the melee seems to have started when an employee tried to enter it.

There have been two Walmarts at least I have read about with meth labs inside the stores or in their parking lots, so that is where I got this idea.

Meth Labs in Walmart: Not That Unusual
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/03/16/meth_labs_in_walmart_pretty_common.html

Muncie, IN; Tulsa, OK; Antioch, Tennessee; Burton, Michigan; Danville, Kentucky; St. Louis, MO; Bedford, TX - just the ones named in the article!

[TorchTheWitch]

12. sounds like that could very well be the reason then

I couldn't imagine why the attack on the employees especially the woman for just wanting to enter the restroom.

Meth labs in Walmarts. Geez.

I hope they do a follow up on this story.

[PowerToThePeople]

10. drugs are bad mkay. n/t

[uponit7771]

18. lol

[Islandurp]

11. 3:20 cop kicks another cop in the face

[TorchTheWitch]

13. looked to be that he kicked the guy on top of the cop

Wasn't he the one trying to get the officer's gun and got killed?

So much insanity going on it's not so easy to keep track. Very bad drugs just had to be involved with these whack jobs.

[RealityAdvocate]

15. Bad drugs or bad religion..

[Bonx]

16. Yes he did. Christ, what a fubar.

[RealityAdvocate]

17. Looks to me like he kicked one of the guys on top of the cop.

But yeah, major cluster.

[RealityAdvocate]

20. Not sure how to gain control when outnumbered with people willing to disarm an officer.

It looks like they tried to use minimal force and step it up gradually, but that was ineffective.

[Enrique]

19. what were the Palins doing in Arizona? n/t

[petronius]

21. The statement in the news clip does not seem accurate:

When officers arrived, the suspects — identified by police as members of the Gaver family — were in the parking lot attacking a second store employee, and immediately began attacking officers who tried to break up the melee

I don't see a melee when the video starts, it looks like they're all standing and talking to a single officer. It seems to me that the arriving officers came in pretty quickly, and some of the people flipped out in response: the beginning appears to be one arriving officer trying to pull a person back (in order to insert himself into the discussing group?) and someone else confronts that officer. Then, an officer in the back of the group tackles someone--for a reason I couldn't see--and all hell breaks loose.

After that, it's a lot of milling about and on-and-off fighting; the officers have no control, and the other people seem pretty erratic in their behavior. I don't envy the investigators and attorneys who need to figure this one out...