Arizona Deputy Shot In Stomach By Suspected Illegal

[FrankRep]

Pinal County Sheriff's deputy shot after traffic stop (http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2010/04/30/20100430pinal-county-officer-shooting.html)


AZ Central
Apr. 30, 2010


A Pinal County Sheriff's deputy was shot in the stomach Friday by an undocumented immigrant off Interstate 8, according sheriff's officials.

Lt. Tami Villar told 12 News that the search and rescue deputy was investigating a load of marijuana in the desert and was confronted by five suspects. She also said the wounded deputy is expected to survive.

Deputies believe at least two people were armed with long guns and at least one handgun. The deputy, whose name was not released, was patrolling alone in what is considered a high-traffic drug and human-smuggling corridor.

Villar said the deputy radioed dispatch about 4:30 p.m. to say he had been shot off Interstate 8 and Arizona 84, but he could not be found when authorities arrived at the scene.

The deputy was located more than an hour later and taken to the Casa Grande Medical Center for treatment.

His condition was not available.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office dispatched a helicopter and members of its SWAT team to Pinal County to assist in the case, said department spokesman Lt. Brian Lee. Lee said at 5:45 p.m. there were reports over the police scanner that suspects were shooting at a police helicopter. Lee did not know which agency was operating the helicopter.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was headed to Pinal County to assist in the investigation, Lee said. The Border Patrol has sent agents to assist the Pinal County Sheriff's Office with the investigation, said Mario Escalante, a Border Patrol spokesman assigned to the Tucson sector.

"We are headed out to assist," he said.

Escalante said he had no further details about the shooting.

The nearest Border Patrol station in the area is located in Casa Grande.


SOURCE:
http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2010/04/30/20100430pinal-county-officer-shooting.html

[constituent]

'cuz when it comes to suspected "illegals" one thread is NEVER ENOUGH! (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=242595)

[FrankRep]

UPDATE:

Pinal County Sheriff's deputy shot in desert confrontation (http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2010/05/01/20100501pinal-county-deputy-shot-immigrant30-ON.html)

AZ Central
May. 1, 2010

Five men suspected of smuggling drugs across the border ambushed a Pinal County sheriff's deputy Friday in a remote area south of Phoenix, underscoring the border-related violence that has catapulted Arizona and its new immigration law onto the national stage.

The rugged desert area where the shooting took place, near the junction of Interstate 8 and Arizona 84 in south-central Arizona, is considered a high-traffic drug- and human-smuggling corridor.

A massive hunt of 100 square miles that included helicopters with night-vision equipment and more than 200 officers, including SWAT teams, from 13 agencies was still pursuing the shooters late Friday.

More than one helicopter came under fire during the evening as officers rescued Deputy Louie Puroll, who had been shot with an AK-47-type weapon around 4 p.m., according to the Sheriff's Office.

Puroll suffered a flesh wound above his kidney that tore off a chunk of skin. He was treated at Casa Grande Regional Medical Center and released Friday night.

"Here we see the tactics have changed and become more dangerous," Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said. "This has reached a critical mass for law enforcement."

Babeu said he has "called out for help" from federal officials to no avail. He said smugglers know "the police are after them and the fact they are firing upon us changes the game."

Gov. Jan Brewer also weighed in, saying in a Twitter message sent out Friday evening: "Our thoughts & prayers go out to the Pinal County Deputy shot during a stop. Contrary to what some leaders say, our borders are not secure."

Brewer could not be reached to discuss it further.

The shooting occurred exactly one week after the governor signed the toughest anti-illegal-immigration law in the country, triggering a firestorm of state and national controversy. The legislation has been hotly debated, and it has put Arizona in the spotlight over how border states deal with rampant illegal immigration.

The legislation has sparked protests and calls to boycott the Grand Canyon State from opponents, while supporters argue it should be emulated nationwide. Babeu, a frequent critic of federal immigration policy, is a strong supporter of the law.

Babeu was joined by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, another supporter of the law, at a command-post news conference late Friday at an I-8 truck stop.

Arpaio said that, in 90 days, when Arizona's new law takes effect, he will be enforcing it "100 percent," and he worries that violence common with drug cartels in Mexico will come to the U.S.

"I think this is one incident that proves that it's going to happen in the future," Arpaio said. "I predict it's going to get worse because of the chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border."

Pinal County Lt. Tami Villar said Friday's incident "sends a very powerful and loud message that we have a problem."

She added that the shooters are Hispanic men who "appear to be undocumented."

Villar said Puroll, 53, was attacked about 5 miles south of I-8. She said the veteran deputy is assigned to patrol the area known for drug smuggling.

Babeu said Puroll was tracking the smugglers, who left behind large quantities of marijuana.

Babeu said up to 30 rounds were fired at the deputy, who returned fire with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and a handgun.

Villar said the attackers were armed with long guns and at least one handgun. She said gunfire aimed at the helicopters came about an hour after the initial incident. An unknown amount of marijuana apparently handled by the shooters remained in the desert.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office dispatched a helicopter and members of its SWAT team to Pinal County to assist in the case, said sheriff's Lt. Brian Lee. The Arizona Department of Public Safety also sent two helicopters and a SWAT team.

About 70 Maricopa County sheriff's employees also responded to the scene. Lee said most had been involved in a crime-suppression sweep in west Phoenix earlier in the day.

The Border Patrol also sent agents to help with the investigation, said Mario Escalante, a patrol spokesman. The nearest Border Patrol station in the area is in Casa Grande.


SOURCE:
http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2010/05/01/20100501pinal-county-deputy-shot-immigrant30-ON.html

[MelissaWV]

'cuz when it comes to suspected "illegals" one thread is NEVER ENOUGH! (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=242595)

It depends who started it. Smile, btw; you've been cross-referenced! http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=242206&page=11

Because the "suspected illegals" who shot at this cop were using axes!

* * *

I wish I had pasted this in its entirety last night when I first read it, because supposedly the officer had simply been grazed. Now he is "shot in the stomach" and "condition unknown."

[mczerone]

Yeah, the Drug War is just a red herring. :rolleyes:

The real problem was that the drugs weren't smuggled through proper border-crossings where everyone was required to show ID, right?

Prohibition is the problem here, people! This exact same story could have happened in rural California with 100% documented citizens running the drugs. The fact that the shooter "appears to be undocumented" is almost irrelevant.