State law enforcement officials say a traffic stop east of Tucson ended in a fatal shooting on May 25 when a Department of Public Safety trooper shot the driver of an SUV after a confrontation that left the trooper partially hanging from the vehicle. The driver was identified by the agency as 39-year-old Berkleigh Jade Bond. Bond died at the scene, DPS said in a news release that provided details of the encounter.
According to the department, the trooper first stopped Bond after observing the Cadillac SUV traveling at 95 miles per hour, which the release notes was about 20 miles per hour over the posted limit. The vehicle had a counterfeit license plate, the release said, and when contact was made the trooper was given a fake identification card. The release states those initial observations and the allegedly false identification prompted the trooper to attempt to take Bond into custody.
The department's account says the trooper sought to arrest Bond for the speeding, for having a fake plate and fake ID, and for outstanding felony warrants. During the attempted arrest, Bond resisted and ran back to her vehicle as the trooper attempted to use a Taser. The release describes a struggle that continued at the vehicle: the trooper was partially hanging out of the Cadillac SUV when Bond shifted the vehicle into drive and began to accelerate.
It was at that moment, DPS said, that the trooper fired a gun at the driver. Bond was struck and later pronounced dead at the scene. The release did not identify the trooper involved, but it did state the officer has 28 years of law enforcement experience. The trooper was taken to a local hospital for treatment and has since been released, the agency said.
The incident took place near Benson, roughly 45 miles east of Tucson, according to the department's statement. Law enforcement vehicles and police tape were visible at the scene as authorities processed the area in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. The DPS release that described the sequence of events was issued Tuesday and spelled out the agency's version of the encounter between the trooper and the driver.
Photos taken at the location show law enforcement vehicles and police tape in place while investigators work the scene. A law enforcement SUV with flashing lights sits behind brush and yellow police tape at a desert scene where an Arizona trooper is reported to have shot a driver.
Also visible at the scene and in agency images is the type of vehicle used by state troopers. An Arizona Department of Public Safety state trooper SUV with agency markings — a vehicle type involved in the reported shooting.
The department’s release focuses on the facts that led officers to attempt the stop and the subsequent escalation. It reports that the trooper observed traffic violations and identified what the department described as fraudulent documents, that the driver had felony warrants, and that a struggle ensued when the trooper sought to take the driver into custody. The release further states the trooper attempted to use a Taser before the driver returned to the vehicle and accelerated with the trooper partially out of the SUV, prompting the trooper to fire the weapon.
DPS did not disclose additional identifying information about the trooper in the release. The agency confirmed the trooper’s 28 years of experience in law enforcement and said he was treated at a nearby hospital and released. The department has not provided further public comment beyond the details in the news release that described the sequence of actions leading to the shooting.
Bond’s death at the scene ended the confrontation. The release provides the agency’s account of what occurred but does not include additional details such as witness statements, body-worn camera or dash-cam evidence, or information on any subsequent investigative steps or reviews that may follow the shooting. The agency’s news release remains the primary public summary of the encounter as provided on Tuesday.
No other individuals or agencies were identified in the department’s statement, and no statements from family members, legal representatives or outside law enforcement partners were included in the release. The facts released by DPS establish the basic chronology: a high-speed stop, allegations of a fake plate and identification and outstanding warrants, an attempted arrest and use of a Taser, a vehicle acceleration with the trooper partially hanging from the SUV, and the trooper firing at the driver, who was later pronounced dead at the scene.
The department’s account does not offer details on the number of shots fired, the exact injuries sustained by Bond, the specific location of the shooting beyond being near Benson approximately 45 miles east of Tucson, or any planned administrative or criminal reviews. The DPS release does note the trooper was treated and released from immediate medical care after the incident. The agency gave Bond’s name and age as part of the information released publicly.
This account of the May 25 confrontation is the information law enforcement has chosen to make public to date, according to the agency’s release. The department characterized the traffic stop and the events that followed in its summary, which remains the official narrative provided by DPS for the shooting that resulted in the death of Berkleigh Jade Bond.
No further information was included in the news release, and the department did not identify the trooper involved in the encounter. The trooper’s years of experience and the status of his medical treatment were the only details about him made public in the agency’s statement, which concluded with confirmation that Bond died at the scene and that the trooper had been released from local hospital care.