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Dangerous weekend for Phoenix Police Officers
Saturday, September 19, 2009 - knife-wielding woman attacks veteran police officer:
Just after noon, Phoenix officers responded to a call at an apartment complex located near 19th Avenue and Maryland. A woman had been in a fight with her neighbors and after throwing a toilet tank cover at their door, 32-year-old Katherine Hysaw also threatened the residents with a large butcher knife. When police arrived, Hysaw had returned to her apartment and refused to come out. Officers tried to talk her out but she would not cooperate, warning she had a knife and was turning on the gas in the apartment. Police Special Assignment Unit officers were summoned to the scene along with Phoenix Fire who turned off the gas in the apartment building.
Police continued to negotiate with Hysaw but she refused to cooperate and barricaded the apartment door with a sofa. The woman informed officers that she would use the knife on them if they tried to enter the apartment. Concerns were raised when officers smelled natural gas and saw some blood outside of the suspect's door suggesting that she may be injured. When police broke through Hysaw"s front door she began throwing glass beer bottles, striking two officers. A taser was deployed but missed Hysaw. She then attacked an SAU officer, striking him repeatedly in the chest and neck with the butcher knife as he fired two dowel-shaped rubber rounds from a sage gun. Another officer, a 27-year department veteran, shot and killed Hysaw. The officer would have been stabbed had he not had the protective gear. "The officer was very fortunate to have those,” stated Phoenix police spokesperson Sergeant Andy Hill. Little was known about Katheryn Hysaw who had only been a resident in the valley a short time. Police are investigating and tests will determine if Ms. Hysaw was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Sunday, September 20, 2009 – officer hospitalized with broken leg when suspect tries to flee:
Phoenix police responded to a burglary in progress near 52nd Avenue and Avalon at 2:20 a.m. Officers in the two-man patrol unit approached a vehicle that matched the description offered by a resident in the area. As the two officers approached the black Ford Taurus to talk to the driver he drove off, running over one of the officers. The other officer was also in danger of being hit and was forced to shoot at the suspect, striking him. The suspect, Pete Juan Chavez, 23, drove around the corner where he crashed into a fence just west of 51st Avenue and Earll Drive. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Phoenix officer was transported to the hospital and treated for a broken leg. The officer who shot the suspect was not injured.
Sergeant Andy Hill addressed the media during a Sunday briefing updating the deadly incidents commenting, “These two incidents were very unfortunate and involved the matter of protecting the lives of officers. It’s the last choice we want to have, but we have to protect our officers.”