Newly released video footage depicts shooting of Arizona DPS officer
Jun 23, 2023, 8:00 PM
The Arizona Department of Public Safety on Friday released a body-camera video clip of a Monday incident when an officer was shot after stopping a driver in Phoenix.
According to the Department of Public Safety, after Trooper Sean Harkins stopped the driver of a Kia sedan near 21st Avenue and Thomas Road in Phoenix and approached the vehicle, 29-year-old Luis Mateo Jacobo Borja opened fire, striking Harkins in the left leg.
The video depicts Borja rolling the driver’s side window down as Harkins approached before he stuck his head and a handgun out of the window. Borja immediately began to discharge the weapon.
Harkins fell to the ground as Borja fled the scene. Harkins managed to get to his feet and limped back to his patrol vehicle.
Harkins was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center where he was treated. He is recovering at home.
Phoenix police officers found the suspect’s vehicle pulling into a house at 27th Avenue and Garfield Street. When the vehicle left the home, police followed the suspect to the area of 35th Drive and Holly Street where the driver began shooting at an officer who returned fire, authorities said.
The suspect drove away and fired at a different officer’s vehicle at 36th Avenue and Encanto Boulevard. The officer was injured by shrapnel. He was later treated at a hospital and released.
The suspect continued driving and crashed into a wall at 36th and Virginia avenues, police said.
Borja was found dead in the vehicle with a gunshot wound.
Phoenix police are working to determine who fired the fatal shot.