Arizona police use car to ram into suspect with gun
He may have had a gun but he was not prepared for what a police officer was about to do.
Mario Valencia, 36, had committed a series of crimes on Feb 19 which included robbing a 7-Eleven convenience store and setting a church ablaze in Marana, Arizona.
Marana police officials have released a video taken from the dash cam of the vehicle that was used to run over Valencia.
The officers in pursuit of Valencia, who was armed with a rifle, were cautious about approaching him.
At 0:10, one of the officer warns: "He's unlocked now. He's definitely loaded."
At 0:37, the car is shown accelerating into Valencia, who was flung into the air upon impact.
Part of a low cinder brick wall was destroyed when the vehicle crashed into it after running over Valencia.
Valencia survived and and was admitted to hospital. He was sent to jail two days later.
Ms Michelle Cohen-Metzger, Valencia's attorney, said that excessive force had been used against her client.
"Everything in the video points to an excessive use of force. It is miraculous that my client isn't dead," she told CNN.
Marana Police Chief Terry Rozema argued that there might have been a need for deadly force.
He said in an interview with Tucson News Now: "What happens when this guy gets past us? We're looking at a possible hostage situation."
Sources: New York Daily News, CNN, Tucson News Now
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