Authorities have released the name of the man who was shot Sunday afternoon by two Mesa policemen after they say he pointed a gun at them.
Michael Howard, 39, of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community was killed in the incident. A spokesman for the Indian community's police department referred all inquiries to Mesa authorities.
The officers, Ryan Gallaugher and Juan Padilla, have been placed on three-day paid administrative leave, per department policy regarding an officer-involved shooting. Padilla was named the department's top officer in 2003. Further details from their personnel records were not immediately available.
According to police, Howard was erratically driving his black Nissan Altima in north Mesa, prompting two 911 calls. At one point, Howard struck a curb, blowing out a tire.
The second caller, a man, followed Howard to a home in the 900 block of East Jasmine Street, despite police requests that he back off.
There, Howard got out of his car and began to fix the tire. That's when Gallaugher and Padilla arrived. As they approached, Howard pulled out a gun, police said. When he refused to follow officers' instructions to drop the weapon, he was fatally shot.
