http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/0425nehostage0425.html
Officer in hostage standoff under scrutiny in killings
Michael Ferraresi The Arizona Republic Apr. 25, 2006 12:00 AM
SCOTTSDALE - Some police officers go their entire careers without firing a gun or taking a suspect's life. James Peters has shot and killed three.
The six-year Scottsdale police veteran fired the fatal bullet early Sunday morning that felled an unidentified gunman who took a supermarket employee hostage at the end of a police pursuit.
Peters, who was placed on administrative leave, is also under investigation by Scottsdale Police Internal Affairs for the fatal shooting of an armed burglary suspect in October. He was cleared in another fatal shooting from 2003.
Scottsdale police on Monday said they have not positively identified the auto-theft suspect who was shot in the head after 76-year-old Patrick Corbett was taken hostage.
Police are using fingerprinting analysis to identify the suspect, Scottsdale Detective Sam Bailey said.
Corbett was taken at gunpoint as he was setting up the supermarket deli at the Safeway at Shea Boulevard and Scottsdale Road. He was unconscious in stable condition at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn on Monday after suffering a neck injury.
Peters responded to the situation as he was working on a separate detail in the area. The SWAT-trained officer is currently assigned to a special unit that deals with the arrests of targeted felons.
A Scottsdale supervisor at the scene of the hostage standoff put Peters into the mix because of his prior SWAT training, Bailey said.
On Oct. 10, Peters and another officer fired as many as four shots at 29-year-old Mark Wesley Smith outside an auto-body shop near McKellips and Hayden roads. The suspect was high on methamphetamine, wielding a metal pipe. He reportedly attacked Peters and the other officer.
In March 2003, Peters shot disbarred lawyer Brent Bradshaw after the suspect triggered a standoff by walking down the street with a shotgun. The suspect died later.
Peters has received numerous commendations in his career, including a critical response award in 2003.
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