The investigation into the fatal hit-and-run of a human smuggling suspect as he was being arrested by a Cochise County Sheriff’s deputy in December has been closed without locating the vehicle or identifying the driver, while the deputy is back work after being cleared of any wrongdoing.
Victor Garcia Rivas died Dec. 18, 2022, in the middle of State Route 92 after he ran across two lanes of traffic as Deputy Robert Shalvoy attempted to take him into custody. The deputy tackled Rivas to the ground and was in the process of securing the suspect in handcuffs when another vehicle headed straight for the two.
Dramatic footage from the deputy’s bodycam along with the official investigative report graphically bring to light what happened in the last few minutes of Rivas’ life. It includes Shalvoy’s valiant but unsuccessful efforts to pull Rivas out of the traffic lane as an oncoming car approached, as well as the emergency medical treatment the deputy and others provided.
Rivas, 36, was pronounced deceased upon arrival at a local hospital. The Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner determined Rivas died of multiple blunt-force injuries, including to his head, neck, and abdomen.
The autopsy also found Rivas tested positive for methamphetamines and fentanyl. He is survived by four sons and one daughter.
A Sierra Vista detective investigated the in-custody death incident from the time Shalvoy began the traffic stop until Rivas was ran over by a passing vehicle that never stopped. Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) was tasked with investigating the hit-and-run incident, for which there has been no arrest.
Public records show Shalvoy did not provide a formal statement to investigators on the advice of legal counsel. However, investigators had access to more than 18 minutes of the deputy’s bodycam footage, including his actions and comments after Rivas was killed.
Those records show the incident started around 10 p.m. when a USBP agent alerted Shalvoy and other law enforcement personnel to a suspected human smuggling incident south of the Sierra Vista city limits.
According to the agent, he was previously provided information that a silver vehicle from “out of town” was traveling to near the border to pick up undocumented non-citizens (UNCs) and transport them north. USBP’s intel further suggested the vehicle had been involved in prior smuggling operations.
The agent believed he saw the silver vehicle going into Ramsey Canyon, then exiting the canyon. He relayed that information over a Zello chat application on his cellphone.
The Zello software is being used by the Cochise County Safe Streets anti-smuggling team along with USBP. It emulates push-to-talk walkie-talkies over cellphone networks and WiFi utilizing what the company describes as “the highest industry standard encryption, securing communications from end-to-end.”
Based on the USBP agent’s alert, Shalvoy located the vehicle heading northbound on SR92 away from the border. Shalvoy then found cause at 10:05p.m. to execute a traffic stop of the vehicle, which was registered to Rivas’s wife.
The USBP agent pulled his vehicle onto the shoulder close behind Shalvoy’s patrol car as backup. In addition, at least one SVPD officer and another USBP agent headed to the same location based on the alert put out on Zello.
While Shalvoy was preparing to exit his vehicle, Rivas suddenly got out of his car holding what was later determined to be a cellphone. He turns and appears to take a step or two toward the deputy.
Shalvoy yells for Rivas to show his hands and tries to lean him against the side of the vehicle in order to secure Rivas’s arms. Rivas then appears to bend down to release his cellphone but takes off running across the traffic lanes.
The bodycam video shows Shalvoy give chase. As this is happening, the USBP agent is engaged in a short foot chase to capture one of the passengers who fled from Rivas’ vehicle.