Names released of off-duty Tucson officer and armed man he shot

Lead officer Noah Wade, a five-year veteran of the Tucson Police Department, shot Matt Laswell, 38, who sustained life-threatening injuries, the Pima Regional Critical Incident Team said in a news release Monday. Wade was not injured.

Laswell was charged with aggravated assault and is in the custody of Pima County Sheriff's Department Corrections while he recovers in a hospital, said the regional incident team, which handles independent investigations of critical incidents involving local law enforcement agencies.

PRCIT gave the following account in the news release:

Wade, who was not in uniform, was at an apartment complex at 4601 E. Skyline Drive at about 2:30 p.m. April 17.

He heard sounds of distress outside and calls for help, and asked an acquaintance to call 9-1-1 while he went to see if someone needed help.

Wade did not know that a caller who identified himself as Laswell had called 9-1-1 shortly before from the apartment complex to report a burglary in progress. During the call, the man "indicated that he was armed with a knife." The call taker at Pima County Communications told him to put the knife down. The call taker also changed the call type from a burglary to "check welfare" due to concerns the man was in a mental health crisis.

As Wade was checking the complex's common area where he heard the noises, he saw a woman walking her dog outside while she was talking with a man through a closed apartment window. The off-duty officer could see through the window that the man inside was holding a knife. 

Wade told the woman to move to a safe location and identified himself. The man, later identified as Laswell, came out of the apartment holding two knives and advanced toward Wade. The officer fired his gun, striking him. 

At the same time, a deputy from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department had arrived at the complex in response to the 9-1-1 call when he heard a gunshot and saw the three people involved in the incident. The deputy and Wade waited for more deputies. When a second deputy arrived, deputies started giving medical aid to Laswell. Rural Metro Fire Department personnel got there, also provided aid, and took Laswell to a hospital.

In addition to criminal charges, Laswell will be petitioned for a mental health evaluation after he is released from the hospital and booked into the Pima County jail.

PRCIT will handle the criminal investigation of the incident, which is standard practice. All findings are presented to the Pima County Attorney's Office when such investigations are complete.