Gilbert Officer Rico Aranda is steadily improving from head injuries sustained April 29 in a violent confrontation with a car thief that left a Chandler police officer dead, Gilbert Police said.
Gilbert Police on May 3 said Aranda is responding well to treatment and we expect him to be transferred within a couple days out of ICU and into neurological treatment and recovery.
Gilbert Police last week identified the suspect who triggered the deadly climax to a chase that began in Eloy and ended at the San Tan Motorplex in Gilbert as Jonathan Atland, 25, of Tolleson. He was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries sustained in the confrontation and has been charged with murder, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft, police said. He has been released from the hospital and is in the County Jail on a $3 million bond.
Arizona officer fatally struck by vehicle another injured during wild chase involving multiple law enforcement agencies Jessica Schladebeck
A car thief in a stolen vehicle fatally struck an Arizona police officer and injured another during a wild high-speed chase, forcing the closure of a Chandler airport and a response from multiple law enforcement agencies.
A deputy with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office initially started pursuing a vehicle on Thursday around 10 p.m. after the driver, identified as Jonathan Atland, turned around and opened fire. The 25-year-old suspect then lead the officer deep into downtown Chandler in Maricopa County, where he rammed through a gate to the airport, according to a press release from the Gilbert police department.
A car thief in a stolen vehicle fatally struck an Arizona Sheriff’s deputy and injured another during a wild high-speed chase, forcing the closure of a Chandler airport and a response from multiple law enforcement agencies.