FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - A prosecutor says police in Flagstaff were legally justified in confronting an armed man in a Northern Arizona University building and then fatally shooting him after a foot pursuit off campus.
Navajo County Attorney Brad Carlyon said officers had reasonable suspicion about 26-year-old Verl Bedonie after he was seen with a gun in a conference center before it opened May 23 and then were legally justified in using deadly physical force when Bedonie pointed his gun at officers.
Carlyon’s 11-page review of the incident says officers who shot Bedonie had a reasonable fear that Bedonie would cause death or serious bodily injury.
People were interested in these podcasts
Carlyon said Bedonie before the fatal confrontation had refused to comply with orders to drop his gun, pointed it a police and tried to carjack a man’s car.
___
This story has been corrected to show that the last name of the man killed by police was Bedonie, not Bedoni, as stated by Flagstaff police in a news release.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.