Officials say the investigation into a police-involved shooting in Sedona is nearing completion.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety was requested to conduct the investigation into the Jan. 20 shooting involving a pair of Sedona Police Department officers.
“DPS has indicated that their internal review of the officer-involved shooting investigation is nearly complete, and then it will be turned over to the Coconino County Attorney’s Office for their review of the incident,” SPD Chief Charles Husted said.
On the day of the shooting, officers received a call from a resident on Newcastle Lane in Sedona that there was an unknown male on the property with a machete and a stick. The caller indicated that the male was yelling and screaming.
“At one point the caller looked out and said it appeared the male was slicing himself with the machete,” Husted said at the scene of the shooting. “Our officers arrived on the scene at 1:29 p.m. They engaged the subject and shots were fired at 1:32 p.m. The fire [district] was called for assistance and after their arrival declared the subject deceased at 1:40 p.m.”
The subject shot by officers was later identified as 41-year-old Jonathan David Messare, a newer Sedona resident who moved from Oregon last summer.
“We always provide a thorough and complete investigation when we are asked to investigate an officer-involved fatal shooting by an outside police agency,” DPS Spokesman Bart Graves said. “In short, we take our time because we want to be accurate as we strive to present a detailed final report to the agency that requested our assistance.”
