Police officer shot dead by domestic violence suspect in Arizona
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Version 0 of 1. A police officer has been shot dead by a domestic violence suspect he had been sent to apprehend in Flagstaff, Arizona, who then killed himself. Officer Tyler Jacob Stewart, 24, who had been a member of the police department for just a year, was shot multiple times by Robert W Smith, 28, at about 1.30pm on West Clay Avenue in Flagstaff. The gunman then shot himself and was pronounced dead at the scene. Sergeant Margaret Bentzen said that additional officers were dispatched when Mr Stewart’s emergency button was activated and controllers could no longer receive a verbal reply from him. The officer was taken to Flagstaff’s medical centre in a critical condition, but later died. He is the second Flagstaff police officer to be killed in the line of duty in recent months. Jeff Moritz, 30, was killed when he stopped a teenager who was driving with loud music on 21 June 2000.
In a statement, police chief Kevin Treadway said: “This is an enormous tragedy for our department and the family of our officer. We are a very close knit organisation, and know that all members of the Flagstaff Police Department are grieving at this time. “With that being said, all of the men and women of the Flagstaff Police Department extend our prayers and condolences to the family of our Officer Tyler Stewart,” he added. Mayor Jerry Nabours said: “It is heartbreaking to lose one of our officers. We collectively mourn for his family and the entire department.” This is not the first shooting of a police officer in northern Arizona. In October an officer was shot during a shootout in Kaibeto, 75 miles north of Flagstaff. The officer survived the attack. A remembrance vigil is due to be held on Sunday evening outside the Flagstaff police station. |