Arizona Man Paralyzed After Police Mistake Him for Suspect

Mark Trujillo was shot and left paralyzed after Chandler, Arizona, police mistook him for an armed suspect while responding to a neighbor's threat call. Trujillo had stepped outside his home to warn officers that his wife and young children were inside the neighboring house.

Body camera and Ring camera footage show officers at one end of the street ordering the neighbor to drop his gun before opening fire.

Five seconds after Trujillo gestured and said "you're gonna hit my house," an officer shot him. " Trujillo's spine was severed. The father of five will never walk again. Officers involved were cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

Trujillo filed a lawsuit against the Chandler Police Department and the city of Chandler seeking $50 million. Attorneys for the city argue the officers were performing their duties without negligence. The department declined an interview request citing the pending litigation.

A CBS News review of police records, body camera footage, court documents and local news reports found more than 50 cases since 2015 in which police shot innocent bystanders. Law enforcement watchdogs told CBS News the actual number is likely higher because no official national tally exists.

" Lawsuits in these cases face significant hurdles due to qualified immunity, which can shield officers from civil liability.

The Fraternal Order of Police has urged Congress to enact qualified immunity into statute. " In May 2026 a Los Angeles jury found the LAPD not liable in the 2021 fatal shooting of 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta. She was inside a changing room at a Burlington Coat Factory store when officers fired at a suspect.