Dashcam video shows police car slam into suspect

Sounds like the cops did a mad guy a favor. An armed confrontation would probably have got him shot dead. Police officer Michael Rapiejko will not be charged

Extraordinary dashcam video has emerged of the moment a police car rams into a man walking along a footpath in Arizona.

The video was taken from a dashcam video of another police car that was following Mario Valencia after he had fired a shot into the air from an allegedly stolen rifle.

The vision shows the second police car speeding past the first and slamming into the Mr Valencia, throwing him into the air in a shower of dust and debris. Mr Valencia survived the incident.

Police have said the police action probably saved Mr Valencia's life, but it has sparked fierce debate about the level of forced used, CNN reports.

The video shows officers in the first car staying a distance from Mr Valencia, reporting his movements by radio and that he had fired one shot into the air.

It is moments after the shot is fired that the second police car races past.

"Everything in the video seems to point towards an obvious excessive use of force. It is miraculous that my client isn't dead," Mr Valencia's lawyer told CNN.

The incident happened on February 19.

Police Chief Terry Rozema told CNN: "If we're going to choose between maybe we'll let him go a little bit farther and see what happens, or we're going to take him out now and eliminate any opportunity he has to hurt somebody, you're going to err on the side of, in favor of the innocent people. Without a doubt."

Police say Mr Valencia was involved in a convenience store robbery, set fire to a church and stole a car and a gun on the day. He is facing up to 15 charges.

Original report here

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