Tempe Police Officer In Hot Water For Hold A Black Man At Gunpoint While Searching For WHITE Suspect

According to a news release from the Tempe Police Department, Officer Ronald Kerzaya responded to the Hawthorn Suites hotel near Loop 101 and Southern Avenue on Aug. 29 for a report of a man with a gun. The manager of the hotel told Kerzaya the suspect was a white man wearing a black T-shirt and tan pants. The manager said the suspect left out of the west side of the building.

Kerzaya then went to the west side of the building to search for the suspect. That's when a Black employee wearing a light gray shirt and black pants was exiting the building and identified himself as an employee. Kerzaya then held the man at gunpoint "until he could confirm that he was an employee of the hotel," the press release states. Body worn camera footage released by the Tempe Police Department shows Kerzaya holding the man at gunpoint for three minutes while he confirmed with dispatch that the man was an employee at the hotel. Kerzaya is heard on the footage telling the Black employee, "I am responding to somebody with a firearm who matches your description." Though just two minutes earlier on the same footage, Kerzaya confirms with the hotel manager that the suspect with the gun was a white man.The Black employee is heard on the body camera footage repeatedly saying, "I am not a threat to you; I work here," while kneeling on the ground with his hands up.

Kerzaya then releases the employee and continues to search for the suspect with the gun. That suspect was never found.

Tempe police say that during a review of the incident, the department became concerned about how Kerzaya handled the incident and placed him in an administrative role until the investigation is complete.

"This incident was not handled in accordance with the professionalism and respectful behavior that we, and the public, have for our officers," the press release states.

The Tempe Police Department says Chief Sylvia Moir personally spoke with both hotel employees about what happened.

Some law enforcement experts are criticizing the way this was handled.

"He's there by himself. He's trying to get information, he didn't wait for his backup. It just seemed like the response was flawed from the beginning and they were just asking for trouble one way or the other," said Bill Richardson, former Mesa Police officer.The head of the East Valley Chapter of the NAACP said the Tempe Police Department needs to change its police culture.