On February 19, 2015, a wanted felon in Marana, Ariz. stole a rifle from a Walmart and strode down the street firing bullets. Officer Michael Rapiejko saw an opportunity to end the incident before the suspect made it to commercial businesses and a busy roadway. This video is graphic, but illustrates the split-second decisions officers have to make while on the job.
Ofc. Rapiejko was praised for his decisive action by Marana Chief Terry Rozema, who credited the officer with saving citizens and the suspect’s life. This felon spent only two days in the hospital before his transfer to jail. He was wanted in connection with three incidents in Tucson: a robbery, a burglary/arson, and a home invasion/auto theft.
Just this morning, a couple of detectives and I were talking about two instances here in Florida where officers we know were forced to strike suspects with their police cars during deadly force encounters. Later today, this popped up after the video was released by MPD. Weird, sobering coincidence.
Randall
