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5th officer in a week is shot in Phoenix
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Hit by 3 bullets, expected to live
Judi Villa and David J. Cieslak
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 3, 2004 12:00 AM
For the fifth time in six days, a Phoenix police officer was shot Thursday, hit three times during a routine traffic stop.
Officer Matt Morgan is expected to survive the shooting, which came less than two hours before police gathered for a memorial visitation for Officer Jason Wolfe, who was killed, along with Officer Eric White, in a gunbattle Saturday night. Funeral services for Wolfe are set for today, and White will be buried Saturday.
The series of shootings is considered extraordinary even in a large city, leaving some officers stunned and giving others even more resolve to uphold the law.
"It's a horrible feeling. It feels like it's becoming a trend that people are thinking, 'Let's take a potshot at an officer,' " Officer Paul Mancha said.
"Thank God he's not dead."
Morgan radioed dispatch at 3:15 p.m. that he was pulling over a vehicle at Seventh Avenue and Buckeye Road. The Nissan had plates that belonged on a Saturn. Morgan's radio then went quiet for 30 to 45 seconds, Commander Kim Humphrey said.
During that time, Morgan exchanged fire with the driver, who had taken aim at him, police said. The driver, who was not identified, was shot in the abdomen and possibly the hip. A passenger in the car fled, but police found him Thursday night and are treating him as a witness, not a suspect, said Sgt. Randy Force, a Phoenix police spokesman.
During the search for the passenger, officers quickly cordoned off the area and locked down a nearby school.
Officer Eric Miner was in a briefing at a nearby police precinct when people began running through the hallways.
"There's another one," somebody said.
"I've never heard of such a thing," Miner said. "It just reinforces in my mind the desire to be out here to protect the public from these types of people. Everybody is just more committed than ever to be out here."
Morgan was shot three times, in the right leg and left shoulder and in his protective vest. The vest likely saved Morgan's life. He was conscious and talking at the hospital.
"It's just a state of shock," Detective Bryan Chapman said. "Officers are wondering when it's going to stop and if it's going to stop."
Wolfe and White were killed Saturday night during a gunbattle with a suicidal suspect. Police say Douglas M. Tatar had shot a man over a $100 bet, then opened fire on officers when they kicked in the door of his apartment. Officer Chris Parese also was wounded in that shooting. He was treated at a hospital and released Saturday night.
On Wednesday night, Officer Scott Johnson, a member of the department's tactical team, was shot in the chest by a man barricaded inside his home with his 4-year-old son. Johnson's protective vest stopped the bullet.
"As resilient as we all are, this is taking a heavy toll," said Jake Jacobsen, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association. "This is taxing our resources and our resolve right now."
Still, Jacobsen said, police are a family, and they will rally around each other. The shootings are a reminder for officers to be even more cautious of their surroundings and to make sure that everyone has adequate backup.
"You won't find 1 percent of our people without a vest on right now. It does weigh heavy with these guys," Jacobsen said. "Nothing's taken for granted anymore."
Cipriano Garcia said he was working inside a nearby medical building when he heard two shots and saw Morgan and the suspect on the ground. He ran over to help the officer.
"The officer started yelling, 'Secure his weapon! Secure his weapon!' " Garcia said. "So I kicked it over to him."
Morgan handed Garcia his service weapon and a clip for Garcia to reload the gun and return it to the officer. Morgan then continued to point his weapon at the suspect until backup arrived.
Marshan Andre, who works with Garcia, said the officer was talking but in pain. He seemed most concerned about ensuring the suspect didn't get away, she said.
"I'm very thankful we have men and women out there willing to put their lives on the line for us," Andre said.
Force said the shootings are an "alarming trend" and "something we'd like to see come to an end as soon as possible."
"This has been one heck of a week," Humphrey said. "And we are ready to get it past us."
The string of shootings is somewhat reminiscent of a 126-day period in 1999 when two Valley officers were killed and nine others wounded in Maricopa County.
Now, like then, the shootings have been random.
Officer Daniel Moncrief said the recent shootings stemmed from calls that are not unusual for police. But, he said, they are not going to deter officers from their jobs.
"We're going to still go out," Moncrief said. "It strengthens our resolve.
"We're hired to protect the community, and that's what we're going to do. When these things happen, it makes our vision even clearer. . . . We need to deal with these people. They're violent individuals. . . . Let's go out and take care of business. Let's take care of this."
