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The Republic
The Phoenix Police Department released body camera footage of a man who was run over by a police vehicle after he was suspected of committing an armed robbery and fleeing.
The robbery occurred at 3:15 p.m. June 7 at a hotel in west Phoenix near 48th Avenue and McDowell Road, according to Phoenix police Sgt. Lorraine Fernandez.
Police received a 911 call from a woman working at a hotel who said an armed man stole her purse and fled the area on foot. Phoenix police later caught up to the suspect and struck him with a police SUV.
Here’s what we know about what happened to the suspect and the ongoing internal police investigation.
Video shows armed robbery at Phoenix hotel
Police said the accused armed robber walked into an open door at the hotel and stole a woman’s purse.
Security camera footage showed the woman confronting the man in the hotel parking lot, where he pulled out a pistol and pointed it toward the woman before he ran toward 43rd Avenue, according to Fernandez.
“I have video of a young man stealing my purse out of our laundry room. I’m a housekeeper,” the 911 caller said. “And when I asked him about it, he pulled out a gun and started running.”
About an hour later, police found the man after he walked out of a Circle K gas station near 43rd Avenue and McDowell Road, less than a mile from the hotel where the theft occurred.
Security camera footage from Circle K showed the suspect, now wearing different clothes, go inside and put a purse on the counter before leaving.
Police outside saw a man fitting the description of the suspect leave the gas station and put on their lights to stop him as he ran away.
An officer reportedly saw a pistol in the man’s waistband and stopped him by hitting him with the police SUV.
Phoenix police body cameras show suspect was run over
Three body-worn cameras captured the moment after the man’s ankle was pinned under the police SUV and officers removing a black pistol from inside the suspect’s pants before handcuffing him.
Lying on his stomach, the man’s left ankle appeared to be briefly under the patrol vehicle’s front passenger tire before officers moved the vehicle slightly to free him.
Fernandez said the man’s pistol matched the kind seen pointed at the hotel worker.
The suspect was treated and taken to the hospital for minor injuries to his ankle, according to Fernandez.
Police did not release the man’s identity as he remained in the hospital awaiting booking into jail.
The officer responsible for hitting the man has six years of experience with Phoenix police and was assigned to the Maryvale-Estrella Mountain Precinct.
An internal investigation was ongoing and would be reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
Phoenix police declined to comment on whether the officer’s decision to hit the man with the vehicle was justified.
Contact reporter Rey Covarrubias Jr. at rcovarrubias@gannett.com. Follow him on Instagram, X, Threads and Bluesky: @ReyCJrAZ.