Trevonyae Cumpian waited on his knees with his hands up. The hot ground burned through the fabric of his work uniform. It was 103 that day.
He stared back at the gun pointed at him and a few feet away, the Tempe police officer behind it. As he waited and wondered if he was going to die, he thought about the numerous other unarmed Black men killed by law enforcement across the country.
He repeatedly explained to the officer that he was an employee of the Hawthorn Suites and not the armed white man the officer was looking for. He repeatedly asked the officer to put his gun down.
"You going to shoot me? Am I going to be another person on the news?" Cumpian can be seen asking the officer in body-worn camera footage.
"Shut the f--- up with that s---," the officer replied.
Minutes passed and, eventually, Officer Ronald Kerzaya let Cumpian go. Kerzaya, who is white, would later be seen in surveillance and body-worn camera footage walking through the halls of the hotel, gun pointed and shouting.
Kerzaya is the same officer at the center of a June 2019 use of force case where Ivaugh Oakry — another unarmed Black man — was shocked with a stun gun multiple times while holding his 1-year-old child in his own home. Department officials said after the Oakry incident, Kerzaya underwent mandatory re-training in contact communication, defense tactics and enhanced de-escalation techniques.
Cumpian says he questions the effectiveness of that training, given his own encounter with Kerzaya.
"What I'm scared of is someone is going to lose their life because of him in the near future," Cumpian said. "He's going to kill someone."
Kerzaya was moved to an administrative role pending an internal investigation after the most recent incident, according to Tempe police officials.
"Our initial review indicates that this incident was not handled in accordance with the professionalism and respectful behavior that we, and the public, have for our officers," spokesman Detective Greg Bacon said in a statement about the incident with Cumpian.
Tempe Mayor Corey Woods called the incident "disturbing and disappointing" in a statement Thursday.
Body-camera shows officer holding unarmed Black man at gunpoint
Shawn Hoover, Cumpian's boss and the general manager of Hawthorn Suites, first called the non-emergency line at Tempe police August 30 to have two people suspected of conducting illegal activities kicked off the property.
Before police arrived, Cumpian and Hoover encountered a white couple smoking something in a stairwell with the door to the exit propped open. The woman left after Hoover told them to leave, but Hoover said the man pulled out a gun. Hoover told the man to put the gun away and leave, which he did. Cumpian, who works the front desk, followed the man to another floor to ensure he left.
Body-worn camera footage provided to The Arizona Republic shows Kerzaya speaking to Hoover after responding to the call. Kerzaya repeatedly asks whether the armed man is Black or white.
Hoover says he offered to show Kerzaya the surveillance footage of the armed man. However, Kerzaya headed toward an exit on the east side of the building, alone, without looking at the video, Hoover said.
Kerzaya encounters two white individuals sitting outside and orders them to get inside while still pointing his weapon. The footage shows Kerzaya standing outside a door, as he communicates on his radio. Cumpian, who is Black, then exits wearing a Hawthorn Suites polo.
Cumpian says he didn't know police arrived and went to the exit on the west side of the building to kick out a rock propping open the door on the opposite end of the building where the armed white man was last seen.
The footage shows Kerzaya pointing his gun at Cumpian, who immediately his hands up when ordered to do so. Cumpian explains that he works at the hotel.
"Hey! Listen! I am responding to somebody with a firearm who matches your description," Kerzaya shouts.
Cumpian again attempts to explain he works there. His hands remain up as Kerzaya asks for his ID.
"You going to shoot me? Am I going to be another person on the news?" Cumpian asks, urging Kerzaya to put his gun down.
"Shut the f--- up with that s---," Kerzaya replies.
Kerzaya orders Cumpian to his knees and to place his belongings, which include a phone and keys on the ground. As Cumpian complies, he continues to repeat that he works there and to just ask his manager.
"Stop telling me what to do!" Kerzaya says.
After Cumpian gives his name, Kerzaya asks someone on the radio to verify he works there. Cumpian asks him repeatedly to put the gun down.
"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," Kerzaya said.
Cumpian can be seen asking for another person off-camera to record what's happening.
"Think I dress like this for no reason?" Cumpian asks, referring to his work uniform.
At least three minutes pass before Kerzaya tells Cumpian he can go. Tempe police officials said Kerzaya released him after confirming he was an employee.
Cumpian asks for Kerzaya's name and badge number. Kerzaya said he would give it to him later. After he returned to the front office, Cumpian shakily recounted what happened to Hoover.
They then heard a commotion coming from the west side of the building.
Kerzaya's body-worn camera shows him communicating on the radio as other officers arrive.
A Black man holding a bike and wearing a white T-shirt and shorts attempts to leave the building, the footage shows. Kerzaya again draws his weapon and moves through the open door, yelling for the man to "Get his a-- out here now".
Kerzaya then moves into the stairwell and begins yelling at another Black man in a black T-shirt, asking where the Black man in the white T-shirt went. His gun is still drawn as the man explains he has nothing to do with this.
"Get the f--- out of my way!" Kerzaya says. "Go!"
Hoover can be seen peeking around a corner as Kerzaya turns, keeping his weapon drawn. Kerzaya asks Hoover where the original armed suspect went. Hoover says the armed man was now outside.
At this point, other officers arrive. Kerzaya then returns to the lobby, footage shows. Hoover said he questions why he drew a weapon on Cumpian
"He looked like he’s unstable and it just seemed like he was playing a video game," Cumpian said after seeing the surveillance footage.
Kerzaya appears to turn off his body camera after leaving, as he talks to another officer outside the building.
Neither of the men saw Kerzaya again as other officers step in to clear the scene. The armed man was never found.
'He went out and did it again'
This is the second time Kerzaya's actions have come under question. In November 2018, local advocacy groups released body-camera video showing Kerzaya and others using stun guns on 32-year-old Oakry.
Kerzaya and other officers responded to the Tempe apartment on a domestic violence call to the department's non-emergency line.
On the video, Kerzaya enters Oakry's apartment and threatens to stun the man within seconds of knocking on his door. Oakry points out that it's his apartment and the officer doesn't have permission to enter before picking up his child.
“Put the baby down and put your hands on top of your head,” Kerzaya says. “This is really simple, my man.”
More officers entered the apartment and at least three pointed Tasers at Oakry, who refused to put down the baby. Officers struck Oakry with stun guns, causing him to fall forward onto a pile of clothing in trash bags with the child still in his hands.
Oakry was later taken into custody and the charges were ultimately dropped. The department said Kerzaya's actions were within policy and he underwent mandatory re-training. Bacon explained that training covered de-escalation tactics, "including appropriate response planning, listening and communication with citizens and responding officers and the availability of various tactical options such as time and use of cover for situational awareness."
Heather Hamel, Oakry's attorney, said the second incident was almost inevitable as the department failed to properly discipline him after the Oakry incident, instead opting to send him through training.
"They sent an implicit message that what he did was okay," Hamel said. "And you know what he did with that message? He went out and did it again."
Bacon said Kerzaya does not have any other use-of-force complaints.
A lawsuit has been filed against Kerzaya and the City of Tempe in the Oakry case. The notice of claim, which serves as a precursor to a lawsuit, specifically questioned Tempe police's tactics and use-of-force training, describing them as "fear-based" trainings that create a culture where officers are taught "use force without hesitation," instead of utilizing de-escalation tactics.
Department reviewing incident
It's not clear how the incident was first brought to the attention of the department. Hoover and Cumpian said they reached out multiple times in an attempt to get Kerzaya's name and badge number. They were ultimately provided it by a member of the Professional Standard Bureau after speaking to Tempe Mayor Corey Woods.
Cumpian said after he learned of the Oakry case and Kerzaya's role, he felt lucky he made it out of the encounter alive, knowing Kerzaya's history.
"He shouldn't be in the field," Cumpian said.
According to a statement from the department, "key members" of the department became concerned about Kerzaya's actions. He was moved to an administrative role and an internal investigation is being conducted.
Tempe police Chief Sylvia Moir was scheduled to meet with Cumpian and Hoover Thursday evening to discuss the incident and show them footage from Kerzaya's body-worn camera.
Woods issued his own statement Thursday, saying that he was dissatisfied after watching the footage.
"We all can imagine the horrible feelings — the humiliation and fear — that the employee felt during the incident and since," Woods said.
Woods, who is Black, said he is working with city staff to examine recent incidents as they draft a plan to address "these challenges." Incidents like these speak to the need for a community-based public safety advisory board, which was slated to start in September, he said.
"Hiring, training, policies and accountability must be examined and proactively addressed to ensure that every person is respected while the community is protected," Woods said. "We expect, and will accept, nothing less."
Reach public safety reporter Bree Burkitt at bburkitt@republicmedia.com or at 602-444-8515. Follow her on Twitter at @breeburkitt.
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