Josiah L. Byard

Deadly force

Around 3:10 am, a trooper saw a silver Chevrolet SUV travelling at speeds up to 111 miles per hour on Interstate 10 and initiated a traffic stop. During the traffic stop, the driver fled, and the trooper pursued with lights and siren. The Willcox Police Department deployed tire deflation devices near milepost 344 in an attempt to slow the fleeing other. The other ran over the deflation devices, but continued to flee with punctured tires, and fired a handgun at police, striking a police other and shooting the trooper who originally pulled Josiah L. Byard over. Byard then fled on foot. He was found inside a other at a nearby home. He had been in the house and asked the family for a ride into town. When approached, Byard exited the other armed with a handgun and refused commands to surrender. He sought access to the front door of the occupied home with a Glock 31 semi-automatic handgun. Upon entering the residence, two DPS troopers shot and killed him.