AZ DPS trooper shoots trucker from overpass with rifle to stop wrong-way big rig

[HCM]

This one is different..

https://www.pinalcentral.com/arizona..._medium=social

DPS trooper shoots trucker from overpass with rifle to stop wrong-way big rig

FLAGSTAFF (AP) — An Arizona state trooper shot and wounded a man driving a big rig the wrong way on a highway after bolting from a traffic stop and commercial vehicle inspection, officials said.

The state Department of Public Safety said the trooper on an Interstate 40 overpass near Flagstaff shot the trucker with a rifle Friday because the man's "dangerous actions" imperiled other drivers and pursuing troopers.

The statement said the wounded man was hospitalized and expected to recover from his injuries. His identity wasn't released.

A motorist reported seeing something thrown from the truck as it was being pulled over and the agency said in a statement that a package containing a powdery substance was found in a freeway median the driver had driven through.

Before the stop, a trooper observed the driver and a passenger switch places with each other, and during the stop one of the two people from the truck got back into the cab and drove off, the DPS statement said.

The truck drove through the median several times to avoid tire-deflation devices deployed by troopers and began driving west within eastbound traffic lanes, according to the statement.

[Doc_Glock]

I have no problem with the troopers actions.

As a kinda of related aside: Arizona seems to have a huge problem with wrong way drivers on the major rural interstates of 17 and 40. At least once a week I hear of a collision, usually fatal from a wrong way driver. Usually middle of the night, usually elderly or alcohol impaired.

I don't know if other states have this issue, but it seems like it happens often enough to suggest some sort of systemic issue with how the on/offramps are designed.

[blues]

It's Arizona...he got his just deserts.

[mmc45414]

As a kinda of related aside: Arizona seems to have a huge problem with wrong way drivers on the major rural interstates of 17 and 40. At least once a week I hear of a collision, usually fatal from a wrong way driver. Usually middle of the night, usually elderly or alcohol impaired.

I don't know if other states have this issue, but it seems like it happens often enough to suggest some sort of systemic issue with how the on/offramps are designed.

We have had a ton lately in SW Ohio, and at least one or two have worked out to be suicide.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[LtDave]

I have no problem with the troopers actions.

As a kinda of related aside: Arizona seems to have a huge problem with wrong way drivers on the major rural interstates of 17 and 40. At least once a week I hear of a collision, usually fatal from a wrong way driver. Usually middle of the night, usually elderly or alcohol impaired.

I don't know if other states have this issue, but it seems like it happens often enough to suggest some sort of systemic issue with how the on/offramps are designed.

Agreed. I was a volunteer with AZDPS for several years. Wrong way drivers were reported all the time in the rural area I worked. I spent almost 30 years as a cop in California and heard of so many wrong way drivers as here in AZ.

[Chance]

I remember Dallas PD considered shooting the engine of a big rig after its driver had been taken hostage and led police on a chase all over town. I believe they chose not to shoot because the chase had attracted an audience, and they didn't want to risk the round doing something unpredictable... I think. That happened while they were filming Dallas SWAT.

[paherne]

Plumhoff v. Rickard all the things...

[Coyotesfan97]

DPS doesn’t mess around with wrong way driving. In the last several years it’s become a major problem. It’s not just in AZ.

https://cdllife.com/2019/police-kill...truck-pursuit/

[LSP552]

Every bit as dangerous, or more, than shooting at passing cars.

[TC215]

SCOTUS ruled on the same thing in 2015, when an officer shot and killed a suspect from an overpass during a pursuit:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...f76_story.html