Some guy just pulled a gun on us. I got a 417 George here. I'm going to need some additional units. In Tempe, Arizona, this is the police body camera from Officer Ronald Curzola. Manager advising this male subject here just pulled a firearm on us. Where is he now? White male, black male, what do we got? Is he a white male, a black male? Come on. White male. Uh he's going to be wearing a uh He's going to be black shirt, tan pants. He's going to be coming down the staircase and exit out that door right there. Moments earlier, the hotel manager, Shawn Hoover, had called police to report two people engaged in suspicious activity. When the hotel manager confronted the suspects in his stairwell, one man pulled out a gun on the manager before putting the weapon away and leaving. He's walking out now. Get inside now. Get the 41, I'm going to hold on that exit. Responding units, if you're coming up Price, I want you to come in that entrance and hold. Put your hands up. Want to come forward. Step out. You work here? Okay, put Turn around. That's fine. Step this way. Hey, listen to me. Listen, okay? I am responding to somebody with a firearm who matches your description. Do you understand that? Actually, the suspect was described as a white man wearing a black shirt and tan pants. This is a black man wearing the opposite, and he works at the hotel. Front desk clerk, Trey Compian, there on the left. Still, Officer Curzola continues to point a gun at him and yell. Come here. I got my hands up, man. Take this gun off me. For real, I got my hands up. Where's your ID at? No, you don't get to tell me what to do. Where is your ID at? Take the gun off me, man. No. Where is your supervisor at? You going to shoot me? I'm going to be another person on the news. Get on your knees. I didn't do nothing to you. Put that on your knees. I I didn't do nothing to you. Remember this. I need your badge number and your name. You'll get everything you need. Put it Put everything on the ground. I got my hands up and I work here. Go call the manager. 41, where are my other units at? Just hang tight, okay? Okay, but this ain't I'm I work here. All you got to do is call the manager and take the Who's your manager? Stop telling me what to do. Shawn Hoover. Take the gun Okay, what is your name? Trey. 41, can we get somebody to get the complainer on the line and find out if there's an employee here by the name of Trey? You don't got to hold no gun. My hands are up. I'm not a threat to you. Are you a cop? I'm not a threat to you. Are you a cop? a threat to you. You don't tell me what a threat to me is. You don't know. Just because you're a cop don't mean you can hold a gun to somebody whenever you get good and damn ready. I put my hands up and I'm not When I'm responding to somebody with a firearm, I can do what I need to to stay safe and go home to my family. Do you understand that? "I can do what I need to stay safe," said Officer Curzola. But Trey Compian was not holding a weapon, not posing a threat, and was complying with the officer's orders. He also didn't match the suspect's description. So, by pointing a gun, a show of force, legal experts say Officer Curzola was unlawfully terrorizing Mr. Compian and violating Tempe Police policy. I have somebody on the phone right now with Shawn trying to confirm if you're an employee or not. As soon AS I VERIFY THAT, you can go and then you can get whatever information you need. Do you understand that? This crazy, huh? Hey, can you record this? He steadily got his gun on me and I got my hands up. I'm recording, too. I know I work here, but he steadily got his gun That's fine. Just stay back. I got my hands up on the ground. He's still got a gun pointed on me. Anybody come out Did he verify that somebody by the name of Trey works here? Get out of here, Trey. You can stand by in the lobby. If you need all my information, I'll be more than happy to give it to you. Have a great afternoon. Oh, he's going to eventually have a great afternoon to the tune of $300,000. More on that in a moment because Officer Curzola was not done here. Yeah, I need at least one additional unit to come to the lobby and and meet up with Hoover. And then I need Stop right there. I've got another ONE AT GUNPOINT. I'VE GOT ONE FLEEING BACK INSIDE. Hispanic or white male, approximately 30 years old, black bandana, white t-shirt, gray shorts. White or Hispanic male, black bandana, running away. That would be the suspect. But a few seconds later, Officer Curzola sees another man in the hallway. Stop right there. Where did he go? WHERE THE DID HE GO? UNDER THE US CONSTITUTION, citizens have no duty to assist police with their investigations. However, Officer Curzola's abuse of language is another Tempe Police policy violation. WHERE IS HE? AIN'T GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH ME. NO [ __ ] SO, WHY IS YOU TALKING TO ME LIKE THAT? GOT IT. GET OUT OF THE WAY. I'M NOT GETTING OUT OF THE WAY. CAN'T GO. NOW. I'M JUST INSIDE THE WEST ENTRANCE. I don't know where the hell he went. He's good. GET HIM OUT. WHERE DID HE GO, SHAWN? JESUS CHRIST. THE GUY WITH THE GUN, WHERE THE HELL DID HE GO? HE WALKED OUTSIDE. JESUS CHRIST. SHAWN JUST TOLD ME THAT HE WENT BACK INSIDE. He may have popped out the main entrance. WHICH WAY DID HE GO? I TOLD YOU. AND WHY DO YOU HAVE MY EMPLOYEE, THE BLACK MALE, AT GUNPOINT? HE'S CLEARLY NOT SOMEBODY ELSE go talk to Shawn. The manager is explaining that he may have fled out the east entrance now, but he doesn't At this point, Officer Curzola turned off his body camera. Uh my camera can't go on me, it's so I'm going to turn it off. According to local news reports, other officers stepped in to clear the scene, and the armed man, the suspect, was never found. Mhm. Soon after this incident and following complaints from hotel manager Shawn Hoover and the front desk clerk Trey Compian, the Tempe, Arizona Police Department launched an internal investigation. At the conclusion of that review, police authorities gave Officer Ronald Curzola a 2-week unpaid suspension. Curzola was also assigned to an administrative role for a year, and he was ordered to undergo new police training. Officer Curzola's supervisor, who was also at the hotel during the incident, was suspended for a week. Then, the Arizona Police Standards and Training Board opened their own investigation into Officer Curzola. They found that the officer, a year earlier, had used a taser on an unarmed man in that man's own home. So, in 2022, as the headlines blared, "The Tempe Police Officer Who Held a Black Employee at Gunpoint Relinquishes Arizona Peace Officer Certification Without Admitting Any Misconduct." In other words, the officer resigned, and under state rules, he is permanently banned from reentering law enforcement in Arizona again. However, Curzola could still get a job as a police officer in another state. In the meantime, the front desk clerk Trey Compian secured legal help from civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, and eventually, the city of Tempe, Arizona agreed to avoid any potential lawsuit by awarding the clerk and his legal team $300,000. The money came from a police insurance fund that is paid for by local Arizona taxpayers. As of this video, there's no indication that former Tempe Police Officer Curzola has sought to leave Arizona and reenter law enforcement in another state. One can only hope he has found a different career and never tries to work as a cop again. People who cannot keep a description straight and are prone to abuse of language and excessive force should never be allowed to carry a badge and a weapon. In Virginia, a police officer is now facing charges and a trial for shooting another police officer following an off-duty dispute at a bar. I SHOT [ __ ] GIBSON. Do what? I shot [ __ ] Gibson. I pulled a gun on him and he And then he shot me. The officer who fired his weapon says he acted in self-defense, and legal experts say his argument is compelling. Check out that video at the link below. I'm David Shuster. Thanks for joining us.