A man was shot and killed by Mesa police officers early on Tuesday after fleeing a traffic stop, according to Mesa police statements reported by Arizona's Family (3TV/CBS 5). Police have not released the man's name. No officers were hurt.
At about 1:45 a.m., officers pulled over a vehicle near University Drive and Extension Road for a traffic violation. Mesa Police Detective Robert Katz said that while the driver was being questioned, he sped off and fled. Officers tracked the vehicle to 6th Street and Country Club Drive, less than a mile away, and found the driver running from the area.
As officers chased the man on foot, two officers fired their weapons and struck him, Katz said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. "What I can tell you at this time is that two officers discharged their firearms, and a firearm was located next to the person on the ground," Katz said. Investigators are still working to determine whether the man pointed a weapon at officers.
Katz said there were other occupants in the vehicle, but police had not said how many, and that the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident with no ongoing threat to the community. Southbound Country Club Drive was closed from 6th Street to 5th Street, and 6th Street west of Country Club Drive was shut down while investigators worked, with residents asked to avoid the area.
The Gilbert Police Department is investigating what led to the shooting as part of the East Valley Critical Incident Response Team. Arizona's Family and Focal News both reported the shooting was counted as the 40th officer-involved shooting in Maricopa County and the 69th in Arizona so far this year.