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Arizona Tribal Officer Killed Responding to Disturbance

Joshua Briese, who had been with the Police Department for less than a year, and another officer responded to a disturbance call involving a large crowd. Multiple gunshots were fired and both officers were struck.

by Staff
June 3, 2024
Arizona Tribal Officer Killed Responding to Disturbance

Officer Joshua Briese of the Gila River Police Department was killed Saturday during response to a disturbance at a home.

Credit:

Gila River PD

2 min to read



An Arizona police officer was killed and another wounded while responding to a disturbance at a home early Saturday in Santan, District 4, of the Gila River Indian Community, according to the Gila River Police Department.

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Joshua Briese, who had been with the Police Department for less than a year, and another officer responded to a disturbance call involving a large crowd. Multiple gunshots were fired and both officers were struck, according to a Gila River Police Department Facebook post.

Both officers were taken to the hospital. Briese died from his injuries, while the other officer, who has not been identified, was in serious but stable condition, according to police.

Four other people were struck by gunfire. One of them died, and the three others were being treated at area hospitals, AZFamily reports.

On Sunday, the FBI’s Phoenix Field Office said that a man and a boy were taken into custody and are receiving medical care for injuries they got during the shooting, AZ Family reports.

Briese was the son of former Yellowstone County Sheriff's Officer David Briese, who also died in the line of duty.

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David Briese was killed in November 2006 in an automobile accident on Interstate 90, near King Avenue West in Billings, Montana, while responding to a backup call for an officer who was dealing with a combative impaired driver, according to the Sheriff's Office.

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