In the fall of 2020, a domestic disturbance call to Phoenix police escalated into a fatal encounter that left two brothers dead. On the night of October 20, officers responded to a home near 22nd Street and Indian School Road after a woman called 911, expressing fear for her life and stating her two adult sons were fighting. The caller, Lillian Cocreham, had barricaded herself in a bedroom, afraid that her elder son, 44-year-old Emmett Cocreham, was going to harm her.
She informed the dispatcher that her sons, Emmett and George, had a history of altercations that had previously required police intervention.
Upon their arrival, officers encountered a tense and volatile scene. They positioned themselves in the backyard where they saw the two brothers yelling at each other. Officers reported seeing George Cocreham holding a rifle and gave multiple commands for him to drop the weapon. The brothers went back inside the house, but Emmett, who was unarmed, soon re-emerged. As he stood on the back porch, ignoring police commands to come towards them, his brother George opened the back door and allegedly pointed the rifle in the direction of Emmett and the officers.
The situation unraveled in a matter of seconds. Two officers opened fire, striking both brothers. Emmett was pronounced dead at the scene, while George was transported to a hospital where he later died. An investigation into the shooting followed, and while a rifle and a BB gun were recovered from the scene, the officers' actions came under scrutiny. The police department conducted an internal investigation, and the case was reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. Ultimately, the two officers who fired their weapons did not face any criminal charges.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Lillian Cocreham filed a lawsuit against the city of Phoenix, alleging the wrongful death of her sons. The lawsuit claimed that the officers failed to de-escalate the situation and did not provide timely medical aid to her sons after they were shot. The city of Phoenix eventually agreed to a $1 million settlement with the family, a decision made without an admission of fault on the city's part.
