Ryan Whitaker had heard a stranger knock on his Ahwatukee apartment door in the middle of the night earlier in May. So when he heard a similar knock on a Thursday after 10 p.m. later that same week, he answered the door holding his 9 mm gun.
Holding the gun in his right hand, he was confronted by two Phoenix police officers standing on either side of the door. They appeared surprised by the sight of the firearm, body camera footage shows.
Three seconds after Whitaker opened the door, Phoenix Officer Jeff Cooke shot Whitaker in the back at least two times, killing the 40-year-old man.
The deadly episode, which happened on May 21, is part of a string of Phoenix police shootings this year that has, yet again, reinvigorated criticism from advocates who say officers are too quick to use deadly force to resolve incidents.
Hellbound and Down 
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