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June 30, 2008
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Ariz. cop saved by vest, suspect arrested
The East Valley Tribune PHOENIX, Ariz. — After shooting a Phoenix police officer in the chest and hand Saturday, police say, a 35-year-old man escaped custody and took a man hostage inside of his own home. The standoff lastedfour hours and ended with the suspect’s arrest. Police said suspect Aaron Baca Lopez was riding in the passenger seat of a 1995 Mercury sedan when police pulled the vehicle over for a routine traffic stop near the intersection of Van Buren Street and Interstate 10 at 9:45 p.m. Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill said in a release that Lopez rose from his seat after officers asked him to exit the vehicle and pointed a gun at the two officers in the patrol unit. He fired on a female officer, hitting her bulletproof vest and unprotected hand. According to Hill, the other officer fired at Lopez, who turned and ran from the vehicle. The uninjured officer called for help while he arrested the driver and tended to his partner, Hill said. More than an hour later, Lopez broke into an apartment less than a mile away from the traffic stop, at 2137 E. Fillmore St., Hill said. Lopez took the homeowner hostage, but the victim was able to escape and notify police, authorities said. After arriving at the apartment, officers had to negotiate with Lopez for more than four hours after he barricaded himself within the home. At 4:40 a.m., Lopez emerged from the home without incident, Hill said. Lopez will be charged with aggravated assault on a police officer and aggravated assault and kidnapping in the home invasion. The identities of the officers, homeowner and driver have not been released. The officer’s injuries were not life threatening, and she was treated at a local hospital. Hill said he believed the bulletproof vest may have saved her life. Copyright 2008 The East Valley Tribune
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