Authorities on Monday identified Dontez Irvin, 26, as the suspect accused of driving a stolen vehicle into a police patrol car, causing an officer to fire at the suspect, before fleeing last month.

Phoenix police also released surveillance and body camera footage of the incident that led to one officer firing his weapon at the alleged stolen vehicle Monday morning.

The incident occurred in the parking lot of Home Towne Studios in the area of 19th and Dunlap avenues, according to Sgt. Maggie Cox, a Phoenix Police Department spokesperson.

After police identified a stolen vehicle with two people inside in a convenience store parking lot on Sept. 21, two officers found the vehicle shortly after 6 a.m. in the motel’s parking lot, Cox said.

Body-worn camera footage shows the officers driving up to the vehicle in the motel parking lot. One officer is seen with his gun already drawn and pointing outward as he opens the passenger-side door.

Before he emerged from the patrol car, the vehicle struck the door as it drove away, slamming the door back toward the officer. The bodycam then showed the officer firing his gun at the driver of the vehicle as he fled.

“I shot one, bro,” the officer can be heard saying twice. “I tried to get out, bro, he tried to run me over.”

Cox said following the incident, “The injuries to our officers were minor. We don’t believe that the suspects were struck.”

Cox did not elaborate on the extent or nature of the officer’s injuries.

Other officers followed the vehicle as it drove west on Dunlap Avenue, according to Cox. The car, a 2006 gray Nissan Altima with license plate number CVE6090, was last seen southbound on Interstate 17 near Indian School Road on Sept. 21.

In a tweet Monday morning, Phoenix police identified Irvin as the driver and said that he remains outstanding at this time.

Anyone with information about the shooting can call Phoenix police at 602-262-6151 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS (480-948-6377). Tips can be sent online at SilentWitness.org. 

The officer involved in the shooting is 28 years old and has between two and three years of service with the Phoenix Police Department, according to Cox.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or on Twitter @vv1lder.

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