Arizona

Thin Blue Warning: How Arizona law enforcement can use warning shots despite Shannon’s Law

Published

1 month ago

December 9, 2025

Thin Blue Warning: How Arizona law enforcement can use warning shots despite Shannon’s Law

PHOENIX – Arizona law enforcement agencies have the option to fire warning shots, but it’s a rare and controversial tactic.

Until November, the Sedona Police Department allowed the practice under specific circumstances. But policing experts argue that firing a gun into the air to deter a threat conflicts with state law.

What they’re saying:

In the responses from more than 40 law enforcement agencies, a majority gave a resounding “no” on a questionable tactic. We discovered some departments allow warning shots — raising serious concerns about legality, accountability and public safety.

We can confirm that the Sedona Police Department’s policy no longer allows officers to use warning shots. Ex-Deputy Chief Ryan Kwitkin says it’s about time.

“It’s unsafe to fire warning shots. This isn’t the Wild West,” Kwitkin said.

Kwitkin is the plaintiff in an ongoing lawsuit against the city. Kwitkin is suing the city of Sedona and some of its top officials, including the police chief. The city has denied the allegations and cannot comment on pending litigation.

Former Sedona Deputy Police Chief Ryan Kwitkin

Kwitkin was fired in August 2024, months after being placed on paid administrative leave.

His attorney claims his termination was unlawful and that Kwitkin faced retaliation from Chief Stephanie Foley for raising policy concerns — like the ability to fire warning shots.

“I went to Chief Foley and explained that under no circumstance should we allow warning shots,” Kwitkin said.

When asked what the chief’s response was, Kwitkin said: “That we’re not changing the policy. That it’s only under certain circumstances.”

When the Sedona Police Department was asked if there have been any documented incidents involving warning shots since 2020, records show none were fired in the last five years.

Joe Clure, executive director for the Arizona Police Officers Association

“Why would they leave it in their policy for so long until just recently?” we asked Joe Clure, executive director for the Arizona Police Officers Association. “Frankly it’s clear they have some leadership challenges at the Sedona Police Department.”

Clure has publicly questioned the Sedona PD’s leadership and the previous warning shot policy.

Here’s what Sedona’s policy used to say: “Warning shots or shots fired for the purpose of summoning aid are discouraged and may not be discharged unless the member reasonably believes that they appear necessary, effective, and reasonably safe.”

FOX 10 obtained the modified policy, which says, “Firing a firearm in a manner commonly referred to as a ‘warning shot’ is expressly prohibited in all circumstances.”

“But a lot of the concerns that I brought up were for the best interests of the citizens of Sedona, the police department, and just moving the department into the 21st century of best police practices,” Kwitkin said.

Clure said, “I think by anybody’s standard risk management should be screaming about that because it is a huge liability, I believe, and very dangerous for the community to have that even as a possibility.”

Dig deeper:

FOX 10 Investigates reached out to dozens of law enforcement agencies across Arizona to ask if their policies allow warning shots.

We received more than 40 responses from major agencies like Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe, along with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. Nearly all of them said warning shots are prohibited.

Here are some of the reasons:

Mesa PD’s policy says: “… they may prompt a suspect to return fire and may endanger innocent bystanders.”

Pinal County Sheriff’s Office replied by saying: “Like firing a deadly weapon as a warning? That is not allowed.”

Flagstaff PD’s policy says: “Warning shots are rarely effective and pose a danger to the officer and the community if used in lieu of deadly force on a suspect.”

Forty out of 44 agencies that responded say no to warning shots. That’s 90%.

The four agencies on the opposite end:

Tolleson Police say warning shots are “generally” discouraged unless the officer believes it’s necessary, effective and safe.
Lake Havasu City PD and the Greenlee County Sheriff’s Office have the same language in their policies.
Paradise Valley PD says, “Officers will not generally, fire warning shots” — but use-of-force decisions are discretionary and must be “objectively reasonable” based on the circumstances.

Big picture view:

“We created a law for just that reason, to prevent those types of rounds being fired so that they don’t to prevent them from inadvertently striking another innocent person,” Clure said.

The law is called Shannon’s Law. It is named after 14-year-old Shannon Smith, who was in the backyard of her Phoenix home when she was killed by a stray bullet in June 1999.

“When we met with the police, they told us that this is something that goes on all the time. That this is something we have to live with. We said ‘oh no, this is something that the community does not have to live with.’ Something that can be stopped,” said Lory Smith, Shannon’s mother, in a 2007 news report.

In 2000, Shannon’s parents worked hard to pass Shannon’s Law, making it a Class 6 felony to negligently fire a gun into the air within the limits of any Arizona municipality.

But the statute lists some exceptions, like a special permit of the chief of police of the municipality.

Benjamin Taylor, attorney at Taylor & Gomez Law

“What they have is what you call governmental immunity. So, a lot of times a law enforcement officer can be immune or exempt from Shannon’s Law if they’re using it in a reasonable manner. That’s where they can fire in the air. And Shannon’s Law wouldn’t apply to law,” said Benjamin Taylor, attorney at Taylor & Gomez Law.

But the risk, he says, is obvious. For law enforcement agencies, the approach to policy is “to each their own.”

“A simple fix and solution would be to change your policy. Don’t train your officers in the academy that they’re allowed to shoot a warning shot,” Taylor said.

AZPOST is the state’s Peace Officers Standards and Training Board. Its executive director tells FOX 10 that AZPOST doesn’t have the authority to direct internal policies of law enforcement agencies on warning shots.

Clure says it’s common sense for chiefs and sheriffs to ban it for good.

“Just because it’s the police officer firing that round doesn’t mean that that bullet’s any less dangerous or any more apt to go strike an unintended victim,” Clure said.

Policies are changing

The Round Valley Police Department is changing its policy after being asked if officers could fire warning shots. This department was recently investigated by the Department of Public Safety for misconduct issues.

Interim Chief Jeff Sharp said Round Valley’s original policy says it’s generally discouraged to fire warning shots unless deemed necessary and reasonably safe. But immediately following our questions about the policy, he amended it to say, “Warning shots are not authorized,” which shows it’s up to the respective agency’s chief or sheriff to decide.

The list of departments that said they do not use warning shots:

Peoria Police
Goodyear Police
Pinal County Sheriff’s Office
El Mirage Police
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
Flagstaff Police
Surprise Police
Phoenix Police
Apache Junction Police
Mesa Police
Chandler Police
Gilbert Police
Glendale Police
Arizona State University Police
Gila County Sheriff’s Office
Yuma Police
Avondale Police
Cottonwood Police
Bullhead City Police
Florence Police
Mohave County Sheriff’s Office
St. Johns Police
Quartzsite Police
Prescott Police
Holbrook Police
Welton Police
South Tucson Police
Oro Valley Police
Yuma County Sheriff’s Office
Navajo County Sheriff’s Office
Round Valley Police
Clarkdale Police
Thatcher Police
Sierra Vista Police
Marana Police
Show Low Police
Wickenburg Police
Page Police
Tucson Police
Tempe Police

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Arizona

Arizona will regulate groundwater where Saudi company grows alfalfa

Published

9 hours ago

January 13, 2026

Press Room

Arizona will regulate groundwater where Saudi company grows alfalfa

Arizona is creating a new active management area in the Ranegras groundwater basin to more tightly monitor water use.
The new rules require annual water use reports and conservation goals for high-capacity wells.
Saudi-owned Fondomonte and other large farms will face new reporting requirements and conservation goals.

Farmers, municipalities and industry in southeastern La Paz County, where Saudi-owned Fondomonte grows alfalfa for export, will face new requirements on groundwater use and reporting.

The Arizona Department of Water Resources designated an active management area in the Ranegras groundwater basin on Jan. 9, the agency said. With it, the area will become the eighth AMA in the state and the second one initiated by state mandate during Gov. Katie Hobbs’ administration. Hobbs also announced the designation in her Jan. 12 State of the State address.

The agency held an informational public meeting in Salome in October, and a formal hearing in December, ahead of its final decision. From the 400 oral and written comments it received from the public, the “vast majority” supported the AMA, the agency wrote in a press release.

“The future of residents and businesses depends upon protecting the finite groundwater resources,” Director Tom Buschatzke said in a statement.

According to the agency, agricultural water use in Ranegras is estimated at nearly 40,000 acre-feet a year; recharge, or what is returned to the aquifer, is an estimated 2,000 acre-feet per year. There are no exact numbers because, until now, individuals could pump unlimited amounts of groundwater without reporting how much they were using. That’s still the case in most of rural Arizona, where there are no groundwater regulations in place.

La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin celebrated the announcement.

“We asked for a rural management tool that would fit our unique needs. Year after year, those pleas fell on deaf ears. Today, we’ve finally been heard,” she said in a statement. The AMA, she added, “is the decisive action we need to stop the bleeding that threatens the vitality of our community.”

County Supervisor Ducey Minor opposed the creation of an AMA at the formal hearing, saying that there is a water problem to address but the imposed regulations would stunt growth.

The AMA blocks agricultural expansion, and mandates annual water use reports and water conservation goals. Land that had not been irrigated for crop production sometime in the last five years cannot be farmed again unless owners show they’ve made a “substantial capital investment” on it.

Fondomonte, a subsidiary of Saudi-owned dairy Almarai, owns 22,873 acres of land in La Paz County, according to the assessor’s office, and will be granted “irrigation grandfathered rights” for land the company has farmed in the area in the past five years. The company hasn’t responded to numerous requests from The Republic to disclose how many acres it is actively farming in the Ranegras basin.

Like all other water users irrigating more than two acres or using pumps with a capacity of more than 35 gallons per minute, Fondomonte will face conservation goals and report annual water use, which is not public today.

Egg producers, pistachio orchards, dairies, feedlots and other farms in Ranegras would face similar requirements. There are nearly 8,000 acres of irrigated farmland in the basin, according to state estimates.

Wells that pump 35 gallons per minute or less, like those used for home needs, are not subject to regulation under the AMA.

Arizona’s water authority said the mandatory measuring and reporting will provide “reliable water use data,” benefit all users, and improve decision-making and transparency.

What will change?

The AMA will place restrictions on new high-capacity wells, like those used for crop irrigation, and demand annual water use reports or estimates. Anyone who wants to drill or deepen a well that pumps more than 35 gallons per minute, known as a “non-exempt well,” will have to perform a well-impact analysis, which will be subject to approval.

The AMA places no restrictions on wells pumping less than 35 gallons per minute, also called “exempt” wells.

Farmers using wells that irrigate more than two acres of land or pump more than 35 gallons per minute will have to measure how much water they are extracting. The conservation goals and management plan for the area, to be determined, would be designed to mitigate or slow down groundwater depletion. There would be a different conservation plan for agriculture, municipalities and industry.

A groundwater users advisory council, or GUAC, made up of five volunteer members who represent water users in the basin, will provide input to the state agency prior to adoption of the management plans. Those members are appointed by the governor. Anyone can submit their candidacy.

The Department said in the announcement it will send additional information to stakeholders and residents of the basin over the coming weeks.

Fondomonte is in an ongoing lawsuit with the Arizona Attorney General’s office.

“Regardless of whether an AMA is imposed in the Ranegras Plain, which I support, my office is moving forward with our public nuisance lawsuit against Fondomonte,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said at a meeting in Cochise County on Jan. 8, where she announced a settlement with Riverview LLP, a Minnesota-owned dairy that owns 58,562 acres in the Douglas and Willcox AMAs.

Managing groundwater depletion and protecting rural water users takes a mix of tools, she added.

“(An AMA) does not address the damage already done.”

Clara Migoya covers agriculture and water issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to clara.migoya@arizonarepublic.com.

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Arizona

Gov. Katie Hobbs wants to make Arizona more affordable. Can she do it?

Published

21 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

Gov. Katie Hobbs wants to make Arizona more affordable. Can she do it?

Gov. Katie Hobbs put her focus squarely on making life more affordable for Arizonans feeling the pinch of higher costs in the final State of the State speech of her first term as governor.

Hobbs’ 45-minute speech was given to Arizona lawmakers and their guests at the state House of Representatives, but its message appeared targeted to Arizona voters stressed by risings costs. Hobbs, a Democrat seeking reelection this November, repeatedly turned back to efforts to make life more affordable, and the governor portrayed that as one area to find common ground with the Republican majority at the Capitol.

Hobbs spoke about the issue in personal terms, noting that she worked at Pizza Hut to put herself through college and took extra jobs to support her family when she was a lawmaker.

“Affordability isn’t a joke or some hoax,” Hobbs said. “It’s a real and consequential challenge that families across Arizona must grapple with every day. Pocketbooks are strained, and Arizonans need their elected officials to take action.”

Hobbs called on lawmakers to “immediately” pass her version of a plan to replicate part of President Donald Trump’s massive tax package, signed into law in July.

The speech was light on new policy announcements, but Hobbs did reiterate her goals to create new fees on short-term rentals and data centers in order to fund aid for families to pay their utility bills and water conservation, respectively.

Hobbs did announce that the Arizona Department of Water Resources had created a groundwater management area in La Paz County, a process that had been underway and is the second administratively created regulation area in the state.

Hobbs talked vaguely about plans to reduce the state’s expenditures by $100 million over the next three years, which she dubbed the Arizona Capacity and Efficiency Initiative. She also spoke in support of funding K-12 public education, and foreshadowed changes she will propose to the state’s private school voucher program called Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. More details of both proposals are expected to be released on Jan. 16, when Hobbs debuts her budget plan.

“In my plan, the original mission of the ESA program — to help kids with disabilities and in military families — remains untouched,” Hobbs said. “But even the program’s most ardent supporters must agree: it’s time we tackle the waste, fraud, and abuse to ensure taxpayer dollars are going towards true educational purposes.”

In targeting waste, fraud and abuse, Hobbs borrowed a piece of political rhetoric often used by the Trump administration. She repeatedly portrayed Arizona’s government as efficient and effective when compared to the leadership in Washington, D.C.

“We delivered 10 million school meals to children who needed them while Washington cut food assistance and then held it hostage during the federal government shutdown,” Hobbs said of her work in 2025. “And the budget we passed was bipartisan and balanced, while the Washington budget was partisan and skyrocketed the national debt by trillions of dollars — leaving our children and grandchildren to pick up the tab for our federal government’s reckless and irresponsible spending.”

She also blasted the federal government for rejecting an emergency declaration after flooding swept through Globe and parts of Gila County last year. Hobbs used the issue as one of several throughout her speech to call for bipartisanship.

“I hope elected officials on both sides of this chamber, and in Congress, join me in calling on (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) to right this wrong and reverse their callous decision to deny our communities emergency assistance,” Hobbs said. “To the people of Globe and Miami — you deserve better than this. We will continue to fight for you and all Arizonans — especially when Washington, D.C. won’t.”

While many of Hobbs’ goals prompted standing ovations from Democratic lawmakers in the chamber, the speech was received coolly by Republicans. Still, it was also notable that the lengthy address did not prompt antics as in prior years, when GOP lawmakers turned their backs on the governor or left the chamber entirely.

Hobbs did not discuss issues that have animated Democrats in past elections, such as LGBTQ rights or abortion access, save for passing references to allowing Arizonans the freedom “to decide who to love” and “to make your own medical decisions, including how and when to grow your family.”

“She sounded more like a Republican,” said Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix and a former staffer for GOP Gov. Doug Ducey.

Gress pointed to Hobbs’ calls for $100 million in spending reductions, and her nod to her request the Trump administration pay Arizona over $760 million for border costs. Hobbs also mentioned her past deployment of the Arizona National Guard to the border, and her task forces that she said have helped seize more than 16,000 pounds of fentanyl, 1,200 firearms and made over 1,400 arrests.

“While the federal government uses law enforcement resources to score political points in cities thousands of miles from the southern border, Arizona is laser-focused on securing the border, getting drugs off the streets, and cracking down on criminals poisoning our neighborhoods and our children,” she said.

This is a developing story. Return to azcentral.com for updates.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.

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Arizona

Here are the biggest Arizona news stories from Jan. 9-11

Published

1 day ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

Here are the biggest Arizona news stories from Jan. 9-11

PHOENIX — From Phoenix stores being required to comply with a new shopping cart ordinance to a driver who fled police in a Mesa chase and more, here are some of the top Arizona news stories from Jan. 9-11.

Phoenix stores required to comply with new shopping cart ordinance

Phoenix stores that provide shopping carts to their customers must complete an annual certification to comply with the city’s new shopping cart ordinance.

The new ordinance, which will go into effect on Thursday, is being implemented to reduce the number of abandoned shopping carts in neighborhoods, sidewalks and other public spaces, according to a news release.

If any store fails to comply by the Thursday deadline, those with a retrieval contract will be subject to a $25 fee for every cart returned by the city. A $50 fee will be charged to stores that don’t have a contract

Driver who fled police in Mesa chase hospitalized after crash

A driver who fled Mesa police and crashed early Saturday morning was hospitalized, and he faces arrest once released, authorities said.

Police attempted to stop the man shortly after 2 a.m. near Stewart Road and Southern Avenue. Instead of yielding to police lights and sirens, he fled at high speeds, according to Mesa Police Department spokesperson Jesse Macias.

Police spotted the driver traveling north on the Loop 101 and then east on Loop 202 before exiting onto University Drive.

He continued west on University Drive until he collided with a pole near 64th Street. Officers then took him into custody.

Construction to start on 2nd segment of I-10 Wild Horse Pass Corridor Project

The second part of construction for the Interstate 10 Wild Horse Pass Corridor Project is set to begin, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

This will be the second out of four segments of the project. The full I-10 Wild Horse Pass Corridor Project spans 26 miles of I-10 from the Loop 202 to north of Casa Grande. It is expected to be completed in 2029, according to the project’s general construction duration timeline.

Construction crews will work on the 10-mile stretch of I-10 in both directions from Gas Line Road to south of State Route 387, north of Casa Grande.

2026 Arizona Bike Week motorcycle rally and concert series returns

Arizona Bike Week is returning to WestWorld of Scottsdale for its 29th annual edition this spring.

Arizona Bike Week is set for April 8-12 (Wednesday-Sunday), with concerts each of the first four nights. Admission is free on Sunday.

General admission rally passes, which include access to all four concerts, are on sale now for $192.60, which includes taxes and fees. Upgraded front row experience passes are $390.86, while the top tier option with front stage and elevated deck viewing access is priced at $532.63.

Project to improve SR 347 south of Valley takes step forward with contractor

A project to improve State Route 347 south of the Valley took a step forward this week by selecting a contractor, the Arizona Department of Transportation announced Thursday.

Following an extensive review process, Sundt Construction was selected as the contractor for the SR 347 Improvement Project.

The project’s purpose is to revamp a 15-mile stretch of the highway between Interstate 10 and the city of Maricopa. The section of road runs through both Maricopa and Pinal counties, but for the most part is located within the Gila River Indian Community.

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