Mesa police fatally shoot man in Tempe after pursuit of stolen vehicle

PHOENIX – Mesa police officers fatally shot a suspect after a pursuit that ended just across the Tempe border on Friday morning, authorities said.

The incident began when police found the man slumped over the wheel of a vehicle in the parking lot of a Panda Express at University Drive and Gilbert Road, according to an email from Mesa Police Department spokeswoman Irene Mahoney.

Officers learned the vehicle was stolen and began giving the man commands when he drove off, Mahoney said.

An air unit and officers from Mesa’s street crimes unit helped track the vehicle to a parking spot near University Drive and Evergreen Road, east of the Loop 101 Price Freeway.

“A second traffic stop was initiated, and that’s when the officer-involved shooting occurred,” Mahoney said in the email.

No other details were immediately available.

The suspect was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Tempe Police Department is handling the investigation into the incident.

It was the second shooting involving Mesa police this year, per KTAR News 92.3 FM tracking.

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