By Dale Quinn
Arizona Daily Star
TUCSON, Ariz. — Tucson police identified the suspected bank robber who shot and wounded three officers Saturday as 36-year-old Cassius Clayton Whitehead.
A fourth officer shot and seriously wounded Whitehead, of Tucson, in the backyard of a home in the 4300 block of East Pima Street, near North Columbus Boulevard.
Whitehead shot the officers while trying to evade police after he robbed a Wells Fargo Bank at 5310 E. Grant Road, police said.
Two of the officers and Whitehead were taken to University Medical Center where Whitehead underwent surgery. He has been arrested and will likely face at least 20 felony counts, said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
Sgt. Gary K. Downard and Officer Michael Dowling were transported to University Medical Center by ambulance, but have since been released and are recovering at home, Robinson said.
Officer Jeffrey Baker suffered a superficial wound from a bullet fragment or ricochet and was treated at the scene, Robinson said.
About 11:30 a.m. Saturday, police received a call about an armed robbery going on at the bank, Police Chief Richard Miranda said Saturday.
Police got a description of the vehicle and the car Whitehead was driving when he left the bank. A short time later, they found the vehicle, which had been reported stolen, in the 4800 block of East Pima Street.
Another officer saw Whitehead riding a bicycle on Pima near Columbus. He matched the bank robber’s description, but when officers tried to stop him he pointed a gun at them and fled into the neighborhood, police.
Whitehead jumped walls and fences as he fled, then hid and ambushed the three officers.
Officer Sean Berube and Lt. Jeffrey Coleman cornered Whitehead in the backyard of the home on East Pima. Berube shot the man and he was taken into custody.
According to court documents, after the shooting officers searched Whitehead and found a handgun and ammunition and a black bag with U.S. currency.
A board of inquiry will look into the incident, as is standard procedure in all officer-involved shootings.
Copyright 2007 Arizona Daily Star