When 21-year-old Angel Benitez sat “slumped over” the steering wheel of a car in Mesa last week, an officer peered into the vehicle before saying no weapons could be seen inside.

However, moments later after he drove away and into Tempe, Benitez was fatally shot multiple times by Mesa police officers who said they felt threatened when he began to lower his hands toward his waist, according to officials.

He died at a hospital about an hour later. After the shooting, police determined there were no weapons in the car.

The Tempe Police Department, which is leading the investigation, on Thursday released footage from the body worn cameras of some of the officers involved the morning of Sept. 25, providing some insight and raising more questions about the events leading up to Benitez’s death.

Benitez’s family is demanding an independent investigation into his death and raising funds for his funeral on Oct. 10, according to a GoFundMe campaign.

“Angel Benitez was murdered by multiple lethal gunshots at close range by Mesa police,” the family’s attorney Benjamin Taylor said in a statement. “Angel’s parents are devastated by the new body camera footage that was recently released of their unarmed son’s murder.

“His grieving mother is preparing to bury her firstborn whose face is unrecognizable due to gunshot wounds,” he continued. “We are seeking justice for Angel’s family.”

The Mesa Police Department was also conducting a separate, internal investigation and the officers involved have since been placed on administrative leave per standard policy, according to officials.

Officer says no weapon seen in car ahead of shooting

Mesa police officers last Friday responded to a Panda Express near Dobson Road and Rio Salado Parkway after receiving a report about a man “passed out” behind the wheel of car, said Tempe police spokesperson Detective Greg Bacon. The man was later identified as Benitez.

Footage showed three Mesa police officers responded to the scene, two of whom approached each side of a red car with tinted windows as the third officer parked directly behind the red car. Benitez could not clearly be seen on the footage.

One of the officers said he saw foil in Benitez’s hand, implying possible drug use.

As officers at the scene discovered the car was stolen, they decided to conduct “a high-risk contact” of the car, according to Bacon.

One of the officers who peered into the vehicle said he “couldn’t see any weapons” in the car.

The officers retreated to a police car, which had backed away from the red car. They appeared to have their weapons drawn.

“He’s stirring, he’s starting to move,” one of the officers said.

Mesa police then start yelling “stop” before Benitez fled the scene in the car.

More than a dozen shots fired at Benitez

With help from an air unit and undercover detectives in the area, police were able to find the car backed into a covered parking space near University Drive and Evergreen Road in Tempe, according to officials. Benitez was still sitting inside, facing officers.

The video released Thursday only shows the perspective of three officers arriving on scene after others were already engaged with Benitez, so what it reveals is limited.

It also was obscured, providing only glimpses of the red car. One of the cameras appeared to be blocked by the butt of the officer’s rifle.

The officers at the scene had their guns drawn and pointed toward the car.

“Driver, with your left hand, reach and open up the door,” one of the officers can be heard yelling to Benitez. “Push it all the way with your foot.”

“Driver, slowly step out of the vehicle and face away from us,” he continued.

Bacon previously said Benitez initially complied with officers’ commands to put his hands in the air but then “dropped his hands out of their view and towards his waistband” while still the vehicle.

“The five officers involved perceived the movement as a threat, and simultaneously three officers fired lethal rounds, and two officers fired less-lethal rounds,” he said.

As an officer yells “don’t reach,” more than a dozen gunshots could be heard within five seconds in the footage. It’s unclear how many of those struck Benitez and which were lethal or non-lethal rounds.

“Driver, speak to us,” an officer yells. No response can be heard, and other officers say Benitez is still moving and they can’t see his right hand.

Based on the video, it is not clear how much time passed before Benitez received medical attention.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @curtis_chels. 

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