Policeman runs over Suspect

Policeman runs over Suspect

Vada Burri, Staff Writer

On Wednesday, April 16, 2015, an Arizona police chief supported an officer’s decision to drive his police car into an armed suspect. Even though the move could have killed the suspect, the officers believed that deadly force was justified. Video of the incident, recorded February 19, 2015, by the dashboard cameras of two police cars, show one of the cars running into a suspect, who had a rifle in the city about thirty minutes from Tucson, Arizona. The suspect, 36-year-old Mario Valencia, was hospitalized before being criminally charged.

Marana police Chief Terry Rozema was asked Wednesday on CNN’s “New Day” whether police were fortunate that Valencia didn’t die. “That very well may be… that it’s lucky that he is still alive. The matter remains, though, deadly force was authorized,” Rozema said. “So if he ends up dying in that situation, then he ends up dying, and that’s unfortunate, but that’s not the desire of everybody,” the chief added.

The footage has stirred debate about what type of force police should have used, instead. Video from Officer Michael Rapiejko’s camera shows Rapiejko’s vehicle running into Valencia, then the windshield smashing as the car hits the cement brick in the parking lot. Police in Marana justified Rapiejko’s actions.

“We don’t know that if Rapiejko would have let him go for another 10 seconds, Valencia doesn’t take somebody out in the parking lot,” Rozema said. “And then we’re answering completely different questions: “ Why didn’t you act sooner? This guy had a gun… Why didn’t you stop this guy before he shot my wife, before he shot my husband, before he shot my child?”

Valencia faces 15 charges; three counts of aggravated assault, three counts of armed robbery and possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited possessor. Cohen-Metzger said he has had a prior record. His next court appearance is May 18, 2015. He is in the Pima County Jail. Authorities said no charges have been brought against the officer.