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Apache Junction police identified the officer who was shot and wounded while investigating a stolen vehicle Tuesday as Brian Brugman.
Brugman, 29, is in stable condition after undergoing surgery late Tuesday at Mountain Vista Medical Center in Mesa, according to a news release Wednesday from Apache Junction Police Department.
“We are told he is awake and alert this morning,” the release stated.
Brugman has been a member of the department for a little more than 4 years and was promoted to motorcycle officer in January.
Police found a stolen truck earlier this week at a Bank of America, officials said Tuesday. The vehicle fled and officers followed, but the pursuit was stopped for public safety concerns, according to department spokesperson Marshall Harshman.
The truck was spotted again Tuesday afternoon in the area of Apache Trail and 102nd Street, west of the city limits, in unincorporated Maricopa County.
Brugman and other officers spotted the vehicle in a parking lot. Police officials say suspects in the vehicle tried to ram the officers, and there was an exchange of gunfire.
At least one officer began shooting and at least one of the men returned fire, striking the officer, police said Tuesday.
One of the suspects also was struck, and the person’s condition is unknown. Another suspect is in custody, according to Harshman.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety took over the investigation. DPS spokesman Bart Graves said in an email Wednesday the department was still in the early stages of the investigation and no updates were available.
Reach breaking news editor Mike Cruz at [email protected] or on Twitter at @mikecnews.
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