An Arizona sheriff's deputy came away unscathed during a Friday ambush, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he feels like cops are under siege.
"There’s a war on cops,"
Arpaio told KPHO-TV. "They better start thinking about that all the way from Washington on down."
Arpaio said it was the second attack on Maricopa County deputies this month.
The suspect allegedly fired shots at a deputy from a substation parking lot in Surprise, Arizona, on Friday. The deputy escaped injury in the building's bullet-proof glass entrance. Another deputy took the suspect into custody.
The suspect was identified as Jonathan David Perez, 38,
ABC 15 KNXV-TV reported.
The motive was unknown and charges weren't released,
CNN reported.
The suspect allegedly fired the shots from inside a silver Lexus,
The Arizona Republic reported. Several weapons could be seen inside the vehicle, and a bomb squad was called to investigate.
The incident follows the May 7 shooting of Maricopa County Deputy Bryan Wisda, who was injured when a passing car opened fire on him during a traffic stop in Tempe.
"This is twice against our deputies," Arpaio told The Republic. "Twice. So I take that very serious, and I’m going to do everything I can to stop this. They want a war? They’re going to have a war."
Arpaio also noted a Phoenix police officer who died after a shootout on Wednesday. Phoenix Police Officer David Glasser, 35, was shot during an exchange of gunfire while responding to a burglary in progress,
The Republic said in a separate report. A police spokesman also described that shooting as an ambush.
Arpaio, who calls himself America's toughest sheriff, has made headlines for his treatment of prisoners and opposition to undocumented immigrants, CNN said.
On May 13, the sheriff and three others were ruled in civil contempt of court in a racial-profiling case,
KJZZ Radio reported.
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