The moment a car drives toward three Phoenix Police officers. (Facebook/Phoenix Police Department)
Three Phoenix police officers were injured after a man drove a vehicle into them in what Phoenix police call a “violent, intentional” act, the Police Department says.
The Phoenix Police Department released surveillance video of the September 13 attack on Facebook. The officers are struck at about 1 minute into the video (warning: graphic). The suspect was identified as Marc LaQuon Payne, 44, said AZCentral.com.
The news site quoted the police chief as saying, “Our Phoenix police officers were targeted.”
You can watch the video here:
Phoenix Police Chief Joe Yahner released a statement on Facebook that said, “This morning, outside the QT at 2500 W. Camelback, three of our officers were the victims of a violent, intentional attack.”
Yahner wrote that the “officers had just completed a call for service and were standing in the parking lot in front of the store debriefing the incident when the suspect drove his vehicle directly at them attempting to run them over. The suspect vehicle struck two of the officers, collided into a police vehicle and crashed into the QT causing extensive damage.”
The police chief said the suspect “then struggled violently with the officers for several minutes before being taken into custody. The two officers struck by the vehicle sustained serious but not life threatening injuries. The third officer was able to jump out of the way but sustained some injuries during the extended struggle with the suspect.”
The chief expressed gratitude that the officers were not killed. “As a Department, we are very fortunate these officers were not killed or more seriously injured. We are living in uncertain times, and this is yet another reminder of how important it is to stay vigilant, and to watch out for one another,” he wrote. “The actions taken by our officers in the immediate moments following this incident were nothing short of heroic. I am so proud of them and all the men and women of the Phoenix Police Department.”
