FOUNTAIN HILLS — Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone released the body camera footage and 911 calls Thursday in the case of a terrorism suspect Ismail Hamed, 18, who was shot by an officer Jan. 7 in Fountain Hills.
Hamed survived his wounds.
Hamed is accused of acting on behalf of ISIS. According to a complaint filed by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Hamed “intentionally or knowingly, did provide advice, assistance, direction or management” to ISIS.
Hamed is facing one count of terrorism, and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Penzone, who played both the call and body camera footage during a media briefing, expressed frustration with the media afterwards.
This is a transcript of the 911 call Hamed made, which led to deputies being sent to the scene:
ISMAIL HAMED: Hi, my name is Ismail Hamed, and I live in Fountain Hills and I’m only allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Please I just want a cop to come real quick and I want to deal with them.
DISPATCHER: OK, what’s your address?
ISMAIL HAMED: I’m at Fountain Hills. I’m at the Town Hall.
DISPATCHER: At Town Hall?
ISMAIL HAMED: Yes, I’d like to see cops.
DISPATCHER: OK, hold on. Let’s.. Your name is… How do you spell your last name?
ISMAIL HAMED: H-a-m-e-d.
DISPATCHER: What’s your call back number?
ISMAIL HAMED: Yes. Sir, can I ask you something? How long will the cops come?
DISPATCHER: I need to gather some information from you before I can give you any TA (time of arrival). What’s your call back number?
ISMAIL HAMED: 280, let me look up the rest of my phone number I don’t remember it real quick.
DISPATCHER: OK.
ISMAIL HAMED: I’d like to do something in protest. I’d like to talk to them face to face. How long will it be for them to come?
DISPATCHER: Just a second, do you have any weapons on you?
ISMAIL HAMED: Yes, I have a couple of rocks and a knife.
DISPATCHER: OK. And why do you want to see deputies today?
ISMAIL HAMED: I’d like to do something in protest for the people suffering in Palestine and in the Middle East.
DISPATCHER: OK, what would you like to do? What are you planning on doing?
ISMAIL HAMED: I’d like to talk to them face to face and see what solution they will come up with.
Deputies arrived on the scene a short time later. They would have been fully aware that this man claimed allegiance to the terrorist group and was armed.
The video shows a deputy driving slowly into a parking lot, behind another Maricopa Sheriff’s patrol vehicle. The deputy in the tailing vehicle opens his door and exits his vehicle.
There is a young bearded man with a slight build standing about 15 feet away in an open area in the lot, wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and sandals.
“All right what’s up?” the deputy says to the man.
“I just want to talk about some political issues,” the man says. He says a few more sentences, which were unintelligible, due to low volume possibly because of his position in relation to the body camera.
“OK, do you have any ID on you or anything?” the deputy asks him.
The man then reaches back with his right hand and throws a rock toward the deputy.
“Back off,” the deputy says. He draws his service pistol and points it toward the man.
“740, he just started throwing rocks at me. I have one at gunpoint in the parking lot,” the deputy says over his radio.
The man walks backward in the open lot, stopping about 30 feet away.
“Back off,” the deputy says. “Back off.”
“Drop it. Drop it right now. Drop the knife,” the deputy says.
“740, he’s got a knife coming at me.” the deputy says on his radio.
Then to the man, “Drop the knife. I will shoot you.”
The man keeps walking toward the deputy, circling around to the left of the officer as he approaches.
“Drop the knife, I will shoot you. Drop the knife,” the deputy says, his voice rising as the man keeps approaching, arriving within a few feet of the deputy.
The screen is dark on the video, apparently because the camera is facing the sun. The man appears to be within arm’s length or so of the deputy.
The deputy fires his weapon twice.
The man falls onto the pavement. He groans and curls up on his right side.
“Drop the knife,” the deputy says, as he approaches the wounded man. “Drop the knife.”
“I dropped it,” the man says.
“No, I need you to drop it,” the deputy repeats, as he approaches the man, his pistol pointed downward toward him.
“I dropped it,” the man says.
“Stay away from the knife. Stay away from it,” the deputy says.
The man is groaning, writhing on the pavement.
Here is the complete text of the message posted on the sheriff’s Facebook Page:
MESSAGE FROM SHERIFF PENZONE
The number one priority of this Office is to focus on public safety and the lawful pursuit of due process in the prosecution of individuals accused of criminal activity. In this vein, we will always prioritize our decisions based on the integrity of investigations. Any attempt to focus this incident on the interests of media agenda over the core element of what occurred during this incident is a disservice to the community and public safety.
A law enforcement professional and member of this organization was targeted by an individual whose intent was to take a life in the pursuit of furthering the ideology of a terrorist group. Our deputy handled himself as a consummate professional, managing an aggressive threat, being forced to deliver lethal force to defend himself from the attacker.
During today’s news conference, at least one media member chose to dominate the dialogue, failing to show concern for the circumstances and the ongoing threat law enforcement faces as a targeted group or the exceptional composure by our deputy in saving his own life. Instead, the goal was to debate when the appropriate time is to release video for the sake of sensationalizing a tragic incident.
I respect the role of the media in facilitating communication with the public and as a means to transparency. This is consistent with our thoughtful values and principles. Our mission and efforts are comprehensive and cannot be encapsulated in a one-minute news segment.
Please take the time to view this incident, draw your own conclusions and I hope you will share your support for our deputies.
Respectfully, Sheriff Paul Penzone