Tolleson cops shoot unarmed man Original Article Man: Police had no reason to shoot me Brent Whiting The Arizona Republic Aug. 25, 2005 12:00 AM TOLLESON - A Phoenix man shot in the back by a Tolleson police officer during a traffic stop says he did nothing to provoke the shooting, as authorities have alleged. "Police pulled me over for making a U-turn," David Dewayne Russell said. "I wish they would have given me a ticket instead of a bullet." Russell, 33, said he was treated Monday at a Phoenix hospital before Arizona Department of Public Safety officers advised he was free to go. "I hurt a lot," Russell said when reached at his southwest Phoenix home. "The bullet remains lodged in my back." Russell said he is consulting with a lawyer and is considering possible legal action. Officer Frank Valenzuela, a DPS spokesman, said Wednesday that based on a preliminary investigation, Tolleson Officer Kenneth Hernandez believed Russell made a move, as if lunging for a weapon. Hernandez, a three-year member of the Tolleson force, perceived the move as threatening, so he fired at Russell, Valenzuela said. Russell, a worker for an import-export firm, said he never made such a move. Also, he said there were no weapons or contraband inside his car. Russell said he was pulled over near 91st Avenue and Van Buren Street, and police had their weapons drawn as they approached his vehicle. He said he was seated behind the wheel with his hands in the air when a bullet came whistling through the rear window, narrowly missing a passenger, and then through the driver's seat and into his back.