PHOENIX — The family of a man shot and killed by a Phoenix police officer earlier this year is taking the department to court, claiming the officer used excessive force when he fired a single fatal shot into the man’s back.

Body camera footage released by the department shows 45-year-old Christopher Phillips running through a south Phoenix neighborhood with a handgun before being shot by Officer William Rodriguez Gallardo near 35th Avenue and Baseline Road on January 17, 2025.

Police said officers had been responding to reports of trespassers at an abandoned home nearby when Phillips took off on foot. According to investigators, Phillips refused multiple commands to drop his weapon as he ran several blocks toward a gated community.

The newly filed lawsuit argues that Phillips did not po

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