Police in Ariz. fatally shoot man with machete

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Police in a Phoenix suburb fatally shot a machete-wielding man Thursday after he rammed a patrol car in a stolen truck, injuring an officer.

Avondale police said the man was shot after he refused to drop the machete and a pocket knife.

Authorities identified the man as Jeremy Bustos, 43, and said he was rushed to a hospital along with an Avondale police officer who was injured in the collision.

The officer’s name hasn’t been released, but Avondale police Sgt. Brandon Busse said the officer was in stable condition and improving at a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Witnesses said the suspect was shot at least twice and helicopter news video showed him falling to the ground before he was taken to a trauma center.

Busse said the spree started when a man assaulted a city maintenance worker on the side of a roadway and stole his city truck about 9 a.m. The man took the truck on a joyride as police pursued before officers got a helicopter to track the stolen vehicle and backed off, authorities said.

Police began a pursuit and used tire-puncturing devices and the chase ended with the truck ramming the police car.

Officers confronted the suspect, who refused their commands and advanced toward them with a machete and pocket knife and was shot, according to Busse.

Avondale Fire Department crews extricated the police officer from his vehicle and he was airlifted to a Phoenix hospital.