Suspect ID'd in shooting of Phoenix officer
by Amy B Wang and Maria Polletta - Nov. 27, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
A Phoenix police officer was in stable condition Saturday after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds, police said.
Just before 1 a.m. Saturday, two officers responded to a trespassing call at a trailer park near 31st and Van Buren streets, Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Steve Martos said.
The caller, a resident of the trailer park, indicated there were people in an adjacent vacant trailer who sounded like they were doing damage, Martos said.
When the two officers approached the vacant trailer, several people fled on foot. One officer was shot several times by someone inside the trailer, Martos said.
Other police responders removed the first officer from the scene, and he was taken to Maricopa Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, he said. By midmorning, the officer was out of surgery and in stable condition, Martos said.
As the wounded officer was extracted from the scene, the suspect again fired multiple rounds from inside the trailer, cornering another officer near the trailer. According to police, that officer was unharmed and safely removed from the scene after about a one-hour standoff. Many adults and children were evacuated from the surrounding area, police said.
SWAT teams negotiated with the suspect until the suspect surrendered just before 5 a.m., Martos said. The suspect, 26-year-old Joseph Sandoval, was booked into jail on suspicion of multiple charges, including aggravated assault, and weapons and parole violations, Martos said.
Sandoval was released from prison Nov. 11, according to Arizona Department of Corrections records. He'd been admitted in November 2007 on charges related to theft and misconduct involving weapons, the records showed.
Police did not immediately release the name of the injured officer, but Martos said the officer is 30 years old and has been with Phoenix police for four years. The incident closed traffic throughout the night. The trailer park remained cordoned off Saturday as detectives continue to investigate the scene, police said.