By Lilly Leung
The Arizona Republic
SURPRISE, Ariz. — A Surprise police officer was badly injured in a traffic accident today as he responded to a hot call about an officer-involved shooting.
Officer David Daniels, a one-year member of the department, was airlifted to John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital from the accident scene at Grand Avenue and Dysart Road. His condition early this afternoon was upgraded from critical to serious, and officials said his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.
Surprise Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Pool said the officer suffered “multi-system trauma” after his vehicle was broadsided on the driver’s side by a tow truck as both passed through the intersection. The tow-truck driver, whose name was not released, was not injured.
According to Surprise police, Daniels was en route to a domestic-violence call that escalated into an officer-involved shooting at about 11 a.m. today near 159th Drive and Maui Lane.
Though details remained sketchy, it appeared that shooting broke out as Surprise police arrived on the scene of the call.
Jim Ward of Surprise, whose house is near the home where the shooting occurred, said he was in his bedroom when he heard rapid-fire shooting. He immediately went outside and noticed an unmarked police vehicle in front of the home.
Police have not yet identified the home’s residents, but Ward said they were renters who had moved in just a week ago.
No officers were injured in the shooting, but the suspect in that incident was wounded by officers and was flown to Lincoln North Mountain Hospital.
The suspect’s condition was not immediately known.
Daniels’ collision came moments after the call went out to other officers about the shooting.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety was on the scene investigating the traffic accident, while Surprise detectives were called to investigate the officer-involved shooting.
Ward and Kim Tiberio, another resident in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred, both said the incident was the second of its kind at that home. About a year ago, they said, a similar shooting occurred during a domestic argument involving a husband and wife and one of their friends.
Copyright 2008 The Arizona Republic