Phoenix officer alert and talking after being wounded in shootout

PHOENIX — A Phoenix Police Department officer was in critical but stable condition in a hospital Friday after being wounded in a shootout the previous night.

Police Chief Jeri Williams told KTAR News 92.3 FM the 27-year-old officer was alert and talking.

The suspect, 41, also was in critical but stable condition. Both were taken to HonorHealth John C. Lincoln Medical Center.

It was the 34th officer-involved shooting in Phoenix in 2018.

The shooting occurred near Cave Creek and Cactus roads around 8 p.m. Thursday.

Williams told reporters that the officer, who had been with the department for a little over a year, was “ambushed” during the attack.

The officer attempted to stop the vehicle that was “driving erratically,” westbound on Cactus Road, according to an email from Phoenix Police spokeswoman Sgt. Mercedes Fortune.

“The driver was not stopping,” she said.

Eventually, the driver got to a light and stopped in the left-hand turn lane, according to the email. The officer walked toward the car and asked to see the driver’s hands.

The suspect then shot at the officer, according to the email.

The officer was injured but returned fire at the driver. The suspect exited his car and walked toward the officer while shooting.

The officer worked out of the Desert Horizon precinct.

“This goes to show there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop,” Ken Crane, president of Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, said.

Williams said the shooting was another example of why a study on the spike in police-involved shootings in Phoenix was necessary.

Earlier, another Phoenix officer was injured when a suspect challenged him to a fight.

The uniformed officer was taken to a hospital, but his injuries did not appear to be serious.

The suspect was taken into custody without any further incident.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Griselda Zetino and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow @KTAR923