Mesa police fatally shoot man who allegedly drove into patrol vehicle

PHOENIX – Police shot and killed a man who allegedly drove into a patrol vehicle outside a Mesa convenience store early Wednesday, authorities said.

Officers responded to the Circle K at Dobson Road and Eighth Avenue around 4 a.m. after a store clerk called 911 about a man inside a parked vehicle and requested assistance, the Mesa Police Department said in a press release.

A check on the license plate number provided by the caller revealed that the vehicle was reported stolen out of Chandler.

Police said the man didn’t respond for several minutes while officers used sirens and amplified announcements in an effort to contact him.

Mesa Police are working an Officer involved shooting at Dobson and 8th Avenue. Please use Alma School Road as an alternative. pic.twitter.com/gCmn1tDRVm

— Mesa Police Dept. (@MesaPD) November 30, 2022

Officers then moved two patrol vehicles behind the man’s vehicle. He then started moving around inside before starting his vehicle and backing up rapidly, squealing the tires, and hitting one of the patrol vehicles, police said.

Two officers who were next to the patrol vehicle then opened fire, hitting the driver, police said.

The man, identified later as 25-year-old Watts Williams, was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were injured during the incident.

Police said Eighth Avenue would be closed in the area for several hours while the scene was under investigation, but Dobson Road remained open.

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