Family of teen shot, killed by Glendale Police want answers: 'Where is the accountability?'

Glendale police shooting: Family of teen killed wants answers

The teen, 15-year-old Juan Carlos Borjorquez, was shot and killed by Glendale Police officers in July, and his family is asking for answers. FOX 10's Irene Snyder reports.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Family and friends of Juan Carlos Borjorquez are demanding answers after the 15 year old was shot and killed by police on July 6.

"My nephew was only 15, he is gone now, and my family is struggling to pick up the pieces of our broken hearts," Maria Martinez said.

Juan Carlos' brother, Jose, is now left thinking about what could have been.

"No one deserves to die like my brother did," he said. "My brother deserved to graduate high school, my brother deserved to be my best man at my wedding. He deserved to give my mother grandchildren – where is the accountability?"

The family is blaming the Glendale Police Department for firing the shots. Police say they found Juan Carlos in an apartment parking lot near 65th Lane and Thomas Road, driving a stolen car. A 16 year old was also in the passenger seat.

He told police he had a gun in the car. Officers warned him not to reach for the gun, but they say he didn't listen, and that's when shots were fired.

A blue handgun was later found inside the car. Body-cam footage from a K-9 officer shows the scene after the shooting, and after audio was turned on you can hear officers telling Juan Carlos not to move.

Investigators looking into police shooting that killed teen in Glendale

According to police, the deadly shooting began as a stolen car investigation, and they say the suspect, identified as a 15-year-old, was reaching for a gun inside the car. FOX 10's Irene Snyder reports.

In a statement to FOX 10, police said the first couple of officers at the scene were undercover and did not wear any body-worn cameras.

"We respect the right of the family of Juan Carlos Borjorquez to speak out," police said. "The case involving Juan Carlos Borjorquez remains under investigation. The facts remain that Borjorquez was an armed juvenile inside a stolen vehicle and was reaching toward a weapon at the time of the incident."

But Juan Carlos' family, along with activists outside the Glendale City Council on Oct. 13, say it did not need to come to this.

"Kids have a right to make mistakes and to learn from them," said a spokesperson from Poder in Action. " It is not the police department's job to be the judge, the jury, and the executioner."

The family says they want to see every police report from the day of the shooting, as well as witnesses phones that they claim were confiscated.

Police say this is still an active investigation.