Caught on video: Mesa officer, 2 MCSO deputies rammed by car
May 9, 2019, 6:53 AM | Updated: 9:17 pm
PHOENIX — A man allegedly driving under the influence of drugs struck a Mesa police officer and two sheriff’s deputies in a parking lot early Thursday morning.
Three officers and three deputies met outside a Circle K convenience store near Ellsworth and Broadway roads around 4:15 a.m. to discuss a joint investigation, according to a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office press release.
While they stood outside of their vehicles, a white 1996 Buick Century driven by 37-year-old Carlos Albert Diaz turned into the parking lot at a high speed and accelerated.
Diaz struck the back of a Mesa police vehicle, a Mesa officer and two deputies.
One officer and one deputy were hit so hard they rolled onto the Buick’s hood, according to MCSO.
The other deputy was struck in the leg. The crash pushed the police vehicle 15 feet forward.
The unhurt officers and deputy ordered Diaz to exit his car at gunpoint. When he did not respond, the officers broke his window, pulled him out and arrested him.
MCSO said Diaz was driving on a suspended license, failed a sobriety test and admitted to using illegal drugs.
He was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on six counts of endangerment, three counts of aggravated assault with a weapon, two counts related to DUI, two counts of criminal damage and one count of driving on a suspended license.
The injured deputies and officer were transported to a local hospital, where they were treated and released. No details about the injuries were given.
The investigation is ongoing.