iStock/Thinkstock(PHOENIX) — Authorities in Phoenix, Arizona, said a suspect was in custody after a driver rammed into three police officers with his car early Tuesday morning, in what police called an “violent, intentional attack.”
Police said the man appeared to wait before revving his engine and then plowing into two officers and the front of a convenience store, sending one officer flying. The third officer was able to jump out of the way.
The officers, right after being run over, then had to fight the driver to the ground to make the arrest and take him into custody.
All three officers were injured, one seriously, according to police, but all were expected to be okay.
“These officers could have easily been killed and I thank God we’re not planning three funerals right now,” Phoenix Police Chief Joe Yahner said Tuesday.
Police in Phoenix named 44-year-old Marc LaQuon Payne as a suspect.
Yahner said the incident was a part of a recent pattern in the U.S. of attacks on police.
“This is a violent, cowardly act on our police officers and it’s simply unacceptable,” he said.
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