TUCSON, Ariz. (CBS News) — Police in Arizona released video from a dashboard camera showing how a police officer used his cruiser to put an end to a crime spree in February, CBS affiliate KOLD-TV in Tucson reported.
In the video, recorded Feb. 19, an apparent gunshot is heard as suspect Mario Valencia is seen walking down a street in Marana, a town northwest of Tucson.
Then, in a decision that Marana police Chief Terry Rozema says probably saved Valencia’s life, Officer Michael Rapiejko drives his cruiser onto the sidewalk and rams Valencia.
According to Marana police, Valencia was fleeing from a Walmart where he had allegedly stolen a rifle. He had already been intercepted by police near a post office, where he pointed the rifle at his head multiple times and threatened suicide before firing the gun in another direction and fleeing.