ABC15 chief investigator Dave Biscobing lays out a traffic stop in West Phoenix that starts like a routine speeding complaint and ends with a man on the ground, officers striking him, and felony charges that a jury later threw out in less than an hour.
The driver at the center of Biscobing’s report is Israel Devoe, 33, who says he still can’t believe what was said about him in court. Right after his trial, Devoe told ABC15 he was “astonished” by the allegations, calling them “a bunch of lies.”
Biscobing’s framing is simple but sharp: Devoe says he got caught in a dangerous version of “Simon Says,” where fast, overlapping commands and split-second judgment calls created a situation he “couldn’t win.”
And the most important piece, according to ABC15’s reporting, is that the whole encounter is captured on body camera video – at least at first – before cameras fall off during the most violent part of the arrest.
A Stop For Speeding On Indian School Road
Biscobing walks viewers through what led up to the stop. Devoe and a co-worker were driving a clearly marked work car. Devoe was a supervisor with Allied Security, and he tells officers he’s trying to get to a site quickly.
The officer isn’t persuaded.
The ABC15 report shows the exchange: the officer tells them they were “flying down Indian School,” warning that someone could get killed. Devoe pushes back, saying he wasn’t going that fast. The officer responds, “Oh, you’re going that fast, brother.”
Even before it turns physical, the tone matters. Devoe tells ABC15 he felt like the officer was “pushing something that wasn’t there,” and Biscobing notes the two go back and forth for about a minute.
Then the stop shifts from talking to commands.
The body camera audio captured by ABC15 includes rapid instructions: license, step out, hands on head. Biscobing emphasizes how quickly orders change and stack on top of each other.
That’s where the “Simon Says” idea comes in—because a person can’t follow four commands at once, especially when they contradict each other.
Rapid-Fire Commands, And A Split-Second “Mistake”
Biscobing says the defense leaned hard into the childhood-game analogy during trial, and he plays clips from court recordings to prove it wasn’t just a TV line.
The public defender, Lauren Pauls, told jurors the case was like “Simon Says,” where you lose by making a small mistake while trying to keep up.
Pauls’ example was painfully basic: instead of placing hands on top of the head, Devoe raises his hands above his head.
In a calm world, that difference would mean nothing. In this stop, it became the tripwire.
The body camera video shows Devoe being told to put his hands on top of his head. He answers “No, for sure,” sounding like he’s complying. Then he says something like, “Lock me up, bro,” as the tension spikes.
Moments later, the video shows him lift both hands up in the air—the most universal gesture of surrender a person has.
But that gesture doesn’t end the confrontation. It triggers it.
Biscobing narrates what happens next: officers grab him, Devoe appears to panic, and the stop turns into a takedown.
The Takedown And The Part The Cameras Miss
According to the ABC15 video, three officers pull Devoe’s legs out from under him. One officer lands on top of him while others go for his wrists.
Devoe is heard asking, “What am I doing?” and “Stop,” insisting he’s not resisting. In the body cam audio, he also yells, “I’m gonna hit you if you don’t stop because I’m black,” a line that suggests he believed the force was escalating for reasons he couldn’t control.
Then the video gets worse – and also less clear.
The body cameras of the three main officers fall off during the struggle, leaving the audience looking at skewed angles and brief glimpses rather than a clean, continuous view.
Even so, ABC15 says those fallen cameras still capture pieces of officers punching and striking Devoe, including a moment where one camera captures an officer slamming Devoe’s head into the ground.
A key detail in the ABC15 report is the reaction from the co-worker, who is heard yelling something like, “You hit him in the head,” as the arrest continues.
And then there’s the fourth officer.
Biscobing explains that one officer had been with the passenger, but at the end of the arrest he comes over and appears to stop another officer from continuing to punch Devoe. The body camera catches him repeatedly yelling “Stop” while physically pulling at an officer’s arm.
That moment is a huge tell, even without commentary. If another officer on scene thinks things have gone too far, that’s not a small signal.
When Biscobing asks Devoe if he feared for his life, Devoe answers, “100%.”
When asked what would have happened if he had been alone, Devoe says he doesn’t think he’d be alive.
The Charges: “Resisting” Plus Three Assault Counts
After the arrest, Devoe was charged with four felonies: one count of resisting arrest and three counts of aggravated assault on officers.
The ABC15 report also names the officers who were presented as the main actors in the confrontation: Thomas Patterson, Ricky Toole, and Nathan Epps. He also identifies the fourth officer who arrives late in the action: Genner Cervantes.
In court and in their reports, the officers described Devoe as disobeying commands and “advancing” in a way they perceived as an attack.
They also claimed he fought them with techniques that sounded like a martial arts manual.
That’s where the story gets surreal.
Biscobing reports the officers wrote and testified that Devoe kicked them, used leg locks, “swam out” of grips, and “shrimped out” of mounts – terms the report ties to jiu-jitsu.
The phrase “consistent with jiu-jitsu” becomes a recurring feature in ABC15’s coverage because it sounds so confident, so technical, and so damning.
But Devoe tells Biscobing he doesn’t know jiu-jitsu “at all.”
And the officers’ report adds another detail: they claimed Devoe was wearing a jiu-jitsu gi, like people “well-versed” in martial arts.
Devoe’s explanation is almost sad in how normal it is. He tells ABC15 he bought it at Goodwill for $3 because it matched his cowboy boots.
That contrast – serious allegations paired with a mundane reality – is the kind of gap that tends to decide trials.
A Jury Rejects The Officers’ Story In 40 Minutes
Biscobing reports that all four officers testified at trial and largely backed up what they wrote in their reports.
The case wasn’t dismissed on a technicality. It went to a jury.
And in a risky move, Devoe took the stand himself.
When Biscobing asks why, Devoe says he wanted to stand up for what was right – because if it happened to him, he believes it can happen again.
That line matters because it cuts through the normal fear people have about testifying. It sounds like a man who thinks staying quiet is how systems repeat mistakes.
On the prosecution side, the report cites Sabrina Castille from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, who argued to jurors that Devoe “knew what he was doing” and intentionally provoked officers and resisted arrest.
But the jury didn’t buy it.
According to the report, the trial lasted two days, and the jury returned in about 40 minutes with four “not guilty” verdicts.
That doesn’t automatically prove every detail of Devoe’s account is perfect, but it does tell you what a room of citizens thought after hearing the officers, watching video, and weighing the charges.
When a jury moves that fast, it usually means the state never cleared the basic hurdle: credibility.
“Two Different Worlds”: The Civil Attorney’s Argument
Biscobing introduces Devoe’s civil rights attorney, Jesse Showalter, who says the case is headed for a lawsuit and frames the reports as detached from reality.
Showalter’s line, as Biscobing reports it, is that if you read the police report and then watch the video, it’s “two different worlds.” He describes it as “white is black, black is white.”
Showalter also argues the force was unnecessary because Devoe was surrendering, pointing out that “hands in the air” is the universal sign people use to show they’re giving up.
That’s a central conflict in the entire report: police narratives often treat raised hands as “noncompliance” if they aren’t raised in the exact way commanded. But ordinary people don’t hear commands like robots. They hear them like humans under stress.
And if the law expects perfect obedience under chaotic conditions, “resisting” becomes a charge that can be stretched to fit almost any scene after force has already been used.
The Bigger Pattern ABC15 Says It Sees
Biscobing doesn’t present this as a one-off misunderstanding. He places it in a broader context, including another Phoenix case he says became national news: Tyron McAlpin, a Black man who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, who was violently arrested by Phoenix officers.
Showalter, who also represents McAlpin, argues the same pattern keeps showing up: extreme force first, then criminal charges against the person who got hit.
According to the report, Phoenix police leadership signed off on the use of force in Devoe’s case. A commander wrote that the “response to resistance appears to be within policy.”
That’s one of the coldest parts of the story, because it suggests the department reviewed what happened and saw no problem worth disciplining.
Devoe tells Biscobing he doesn’t believe the officers were disciplined.
And according to the report, Phoenix police declined to answer detailed questions or do an interview, with a spokesperson suggesting answers could be found in the police report – exactly the document Devoe’s side claims doesn’t match the video.
That response is common in departments facing litigation. But it also feeds the public’s worst suspicion: that the system closes ranks, even after juries reject the charges.
Where This Leaves Everyone Watching
Biscobing’s ABC15 report raises a basic question that doesn’t require politics to understand.
If a person can be found not guilty on every count, after a jury hears the officers and sees the video, what happens next inside the department?
Devoe says he plans to sue.
Showalter says the video and the reports can’t both be true the way they were presented.
And ABC15’s reporting implies the deepest issue isn’t just one rough arrest. It’s the incentive structure: if force is justified internally, and charges can be filed externally, then “accountability” becomes something that only happens if a jury steps in – or if a lawsuit forces depositions and disclosures.
That’s a brutal way to run a system that has life-and-death authority over the public, because it means the remedy comes late, after the injuries, after the charges, after the fear.
And if Devoe’s “Simon Says” comparison is even partly accurate, then the scariest part isn’t the traffic stop itself. It’s the idea that a normal person can try to comply, raise their hands, and still lose the game – because the rules change faster than human beings can react.
Ed spent his childhood in the backwoods of Maine, where harsh winters taught him the value of survival skills. With a background in bushcraft and off-grid living, Ed has honed his expertise in fire-making, hunting, and wild foraging. He writes from personal experience, sharing practical tips and hands-on techniques to thrive in any outdoor environment. Whether it’s primitive camping or full-scale survival, Ed’s advice is grounded in real-life challenges.
