WHITE RIVER, Arizona (AP) — A tribal police officer was shot dead during a traffic stop on an Arizona reservation, and a shootout that followed left the suspect dead and another injured, officials said Friday. Stated.
Adrian Lopez Sr., 35, was identified as shot dead by White Mountain Apache Police officers Thursday night in the town of White River on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. He has been with the department since January, according to the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to that, from March 2021 he served as a police officer with the Federal Department of Indian Affairs until December.
Chief of Staff Brian Swantie said at a press conference, “There is no way I could try to outline the chaotic events that this has been.
Authorities said the altercation erupted after Lopez stopped the car driven by Kevin Dwight Nacio, 25, near a busy street. Nacio, a White River resident known to local police, shot Lopez, Swaanti said.
Nacio took off in Lopez’s marked police car. Several officers chased them over a rough area for at least 40 miles (64 km), resulting in a “rolling gun battle,” officials said.
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Nasio crashed his car into a tree near the lake, a popular tourist spot. Ronnie Thompson, 29, was injured and Nacio died.
The sergeant was airlifted to a hospital in Phoenix. Swaanti on Friday said his injury was “not thought to be life-threatening, but it certainly has the potential to be debilitating.”
The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is gathering information to submit to the Federal Attorney’s Office, but he cannot share details, said FBI special agent Sam Davenport.
Swaanti declined to elaborate on how Nacio was known to the police. He also said that the reason Lopez pulled him is yet to be determined.
Governor Doug Ducey has ordered flags to be lowered to half-mast on all state buildings from sunrise to sunset on Monday.
“There is no more selfless act than laying down one’s life for another,” Ducey said in a statement. “Officer Lopez will be remembered as a selfless and brave protector.”
Meanwhile, Tribal Chief Casey Velasquez said all flags on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation will be flown at half mast until further notice. He called Lopez, who left his wife and child, “a beacon of light, a bulwark against darkness.”
“Last night the unimaginable happened. Our hearts are broken again for the loss of one of the best and bravest White Mountain Apache Police Department,” Velázquez said.
Tribes in eastern Arizona still mourn the death of a young officer two years ago. In February 2020, White Mountain Apache Police Officer David Kerrywood, 26, was killed while responding to reports of a shooting outside a casino. He wrestled with the suspect, who shot him. A second officer shot the suspect dead.
Kelly Wood had only been with the division for nine months.
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