Man shot by Maricopa police officer expected to recover

An armed man shot by a Maricopa police officer Tuesday afternoon sustained a non-life threatening injury in his shoulder and is expected to recover.

Police have not yet released the man’s name. The officer who shot the man was Chris Evans, a 16-year veteran in law enforcement. He's been with the Maricopa Police Department for six years. 

Evans has been placed on paid administrative leave – a standard procedure during an investigation of an officer-involved shooting. 

Officer Carrick Cook of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the agency handling the investigation, said Evans fired three shots and hit the man once during a confrontation with the officer on the side of Honeycutt Road between White and Parker and Porter roads.

The shooting took place after a pursuit with police. Officers deployed a spike strip during the pursuit that deflated a tire on the man’s white Ford Mustang.

Cook said the pursuit was discontinued when the Mustang approached a school. Maricopa Police Department spokesman Ricky Alvarado said Tuesday the pursuit ended because school was about to be let out.  

Officer Evans eventually found the vehicle parked on a dirt shoulder on Honeycutt Road, Cook said.  

The man got out of the Mustang with a gun pointed to his head, he said. During the confrontation, the man pointed the gun back and forth from Evans to his head. When the man started to walk toward Evans, that’s when the officer fired his weapon.  

The man was taken to Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix.

Cook said once the man is released from the hospital, he will be booked. The man could face charges of aggravated assault, unlawful flight from law enforcement and disorderly conduct with a domestic violence enhancer.

An additional count of aggravated assault could be tacked on to the list of possible charges as the investigation continues, Cook added.