A Maricopa man will spend the next 44 years in prison after killing a tribal police officer by running him over with the officer’s own patrol vehicle during a 2020 incident outside the Desert Diamond Casino in Why, Arizona.
Carlos Maximilliano Galvan, 44, was sentenced last Wednesday following a guilty plea to second-degree murder in the death of Tohono O’odham Police Officer Bryan Brown.
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The tragedy unfolded on August 27, 2020, when Officer Brown and a U.S. Border Patrol agent responded to reports of a crash involving Galvan, who had struck a handicapped sign and a truck occupied by casino employees. When the officers arrived, Galvan, armed with a broken bottle, confronted Officer Brown. As Brown moved to avoid the threat, Galvan jumped into the patrol cruiser and used it to strike him.
Officer Brown was airlifted to a Phoenix hospital, where he died shortly afterward.
Galvan fled the scene in the stolen vehicle and proceeded to intentionally ram two more Border Patrol vehicles before being apprehended. Prosecutors emphasized the deliberate nature of Galvan’s actions, calling them an attack not only on a law enforcement officer but on the justice system itself.
“The FBI will not waver in our commitment to ensure those who commit acts of violence against members of law enforcement will be held accountable,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jarod Brown of FBI Phoenix.
U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine added: “Disrespect for law enforcement escalates, as it did here, with deadly consequences.”
Officer Brown was a U.S. Army veteran and a 19-year veteran of the Tohono O’odham Police Department. He is survived by a large family, including his wife, seven children, four stepchildren, and eight grandchildren.
