Peoria police shoot driver who rammed car into patrol unit
Nov 18, 2021, 7:06 AM | Updated: 3:21 pm
(Facebook Photo/Peoria Police Department)
PHOENIX – Police in Peoria shot a wrong-way driver who eventually rammed his car into a patrol unit early Thursday during a confrontation in a parking lot.
A Peoria Police Department spokesman said officers attempted to locate the suspect in the area of 83rd and Peoria avenues at about 1:30 a.m. after receiving a call about a wrong-way driver.
Officers attempted to stop the black truck twice but the driver fled.
At about 2 a.m., police received another call that the truck was running red lights and driving recklessly.
Peoria police located the truck in a gas station parking lot, where it was backing into the protective barriers around a propane tank.
The first officer attempted to give the driver commands, but instead drove the truck through the parking lot, almost striking an officer in his car.
The suspect then ran the truck into an occupied officer’s vehicle before becoming stuck on a parking divider.
As officers attempted to approach the suspect, he tried to drive the truck away before crashing into the front of another police vehicle, pushing it more than 30 feet.
Two officers then shot at the suspect, hitting him in the leg before taking him into custody.
The 30-year-old suspect was taken to a hospital with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.
It was the fourth shooting of the year involving Peoria police and 46th overall by law enforcement in the Valley, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM research.