On the morning of 5 May 2011, Vanessa Guerena awakened her husband José, who had just gone to sleep after working a twelve-hour shift at the Asarco Mine, and told him she heard noises outside their Tucson home.
Guerena, a 26-year-old Marine Corps veteran of two tours of duty in Iraq, procured an AR-15 rifle and crept downstairs while his wife and four-year-old son hid in a closet. Members of the Pima County Regional SWAT Team burst in through the door and fired 71 shots, of which at least 60 hit Guerena.
Vanessa called 911 and begged dispatchers for five minutes to send an ambulance. The fire department dispatched a team at 9:43 AM, but they were directed by Sherriff’s Department operators to hold off for an hour and fourteen minutes, by which time José Guerena was dead.
Under the guidance of former US Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona, Pima County has developed medical training for SWAT Team members that has become a model for the entire nation. All SWAT team members have military-style first aid training and SWAT teams have unarmed paramedics who are supposed to provide first aid for anyone on the scene of a raid. No such aid was offered to José Guerena.
José Guerena had no criminal record. The Pima County Sherriff’s department has refused to release the details of the search warrant or to state what, if anything, was found in the raid.
The Department originally said that Guerena fired first but later retracted that claim and admitted that Guerena never turned off the safety on his rifle. The Department also alleged that Guerena shouted “I’ve got something for you!” when SWAT Team members entered the house, a claim his wife denies.
Standard protocol calls for officers to identify themselves clearly before entering a home. Lieutenant Michael O’Connor of the Pima County Sherriff’s department said, “We had our large armored vehicle out there with the marking on it. It also has lights and sirens. So we do everything we can to try to portray the image that we’re law enforcement, not home invaders.” Vanessa denied hearing any sirens or shouts of “Police!”
Her version of events was corroborated by a neighbor, David Watson, who stated that he heard the police announce their presence only after the shooting was finished. Watson, a Vietnam Combat veteran, told reporters “The only sirens I heard out here were like maybe 20-30 minutes into the entire ordeal.”
Pima County Sherriff Clarence Dupnik declined a request by the Arizona Daily Star for an interview, but on 18 May, the Pima County Sherriff’s department issued a press release promising a administrative review of the “police-involved shooting” will be carried out by a panel including officials from the Pima County Sherriff’s Department, the Oro Valley Police Department, the Marana Police Department, and the Sahuarita Police Department. Each of these agencies had officers involved in the shooting as members of the Pima County Regional SWAT Team.
The press release also blasted media coverage of the case, saying in part, “As a result of the need for information surrounding the shooting of José Guerena by members of the Pima Regional SWAT Team, the public has received misinformation and emotionally-charged speculation…Since the Sheriff's Department has had such a long-standing practice of open and timely communication with members of the news media, it is understandable that questions are asked about when more information will become available. However, it is unacceptable and irresponsible to couch those questions with implications of secrecy and a cover-up, not to mention questioning the legality of actions that could not have been taken without the approval of an impartial judge.” José Guerena was unavalable for comment.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
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Richard Rider
Willett .
Lucinda Bliss
LEV JANASHVILI
TimingLogic
Patrick Frank
Salon.com
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The time has come. We all need to speak out and say no more....
Thanks to both of you for your comments.