On June 3, 2021, a confrontation in a Phoenix parking lot outside a Rally’s near 15th Avenue and Camelback Road left William Alexander Brookins Sr., 39, mortally wounded. An off-duty Phoenix police officer who was directing traffic heard the disturbance, went to investigate, and encountered Brookins with a firearm. The officer, employed by the department for four years, drew his weapon and ordered Brookins to drop his gun; Brookins did not comply and was shot by the officer.

Brookins was taken to a local hospital and died of his injuries five days later on June 8, 2021. He was born October 24, 1981, in Southfield, Michigan, and a funeral service was held June 30, 2021, at Thompson Funeral Chapel in Goodyear, Arizona. The shooting and the events that led up to it were the subject of an investigation. If anyone witnessed the confrontation or the events earlier that day, please share what was seen.