Gilbert officer killed during traffic stop

Lt. Eric Shuhandler, 42, was shot in the face Thursday night in a parking lot near the southeast Phoenix suburb of Gilbert after he pulled over a truck for having an obscured license plate and then discovered one of the occupants had an arrest warrant.

The mourners included people Shuhandler had mentored and those who wanted to thank the 16-year police veteran for his service. Flowers and balloons decorated the memorial.

Natalie Henning, who recently received a degree in criminal justice, said Shuhandler told her if she needed anything to come see him.

"I could just tell he was very passionate about his job," Henning said. "He loved what he did."

Gilbert police spokesman Sgt. Mark Marino said Shuhandler was a model officer.

"He (didn't) sit behind a desk and wait to be called out," Marino said. "He's actively looking for criminal activity (and) becoming involved in cases."

Shuhandler grew up in New Jersey and moved to Arizona after working for the Manasquan, N.J., Police Department in 1990 and 1991.

His last traffic stop began about 10:40 p.m. Thursday, when he pulled over a truck for an obscured license plate.

The traffic stop took place in an expanse of parking lot between a bank and a series of shops. Shuhandler checked the backgrounds of the truck's occupants, Christopher A. Redondo and Daimen Irizarry, found a possible warrant for Redondo and called for nonemergency backup.

Redondo shot Shuhandler once in the head as he approached the passenger side of the truck about 12 minutes after the stop, police said.

"The motive for the shooting is not known," Marino said.

Shuhandler never got his handgun out of its holster.

Massive response

Marino said there were two eyewitnesses to the shooting, and they rendered first aid and called for help on Shuhandler's radio.

The area is on the Mesa-Gilbert border, and two Mesa police sergeants who were meeting on the north side of Baseline Road heard the gunshot and responded, but the truck had already fled.

Marino said a Gilbert police officer spotted the truck at Higley and Baseline roads. Someone in the truck fired on the officer, who began chasing the truck eastbound on U.S. 60.

Eventually 40 to 50 police cars from the Gilbert and Mesa police departments, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, Pinal County Sheriff's Office and Department of Public Safety chased after the truck.

Marino said five police cars became disabled during the chase as the suspects fired shots at them and tossed objects from their truck.

"It's nothing short of a miracle no other officers or members of the public were injured or killed," said Gilbert police Chief Tim Dorn.

"It was a very massive response," Marino said. "We had a lieutenant that was mortally wounded. Officers were aware that these suspects were involved in a gun fight. They had shot an officer. They were shooting at other officers."

The truck stopped in the middle of the highway about six miles west of the border of Gila and Pinal counties.

Both men jumped out, said Lt. Steve Harrison of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

"They engaged in what only can be described as a gunbattle with officers," he said.

They were shot in the lower extremities, were taken to a Valley hospital and are expected to survive.

35-year-old from Globe

Redondo, the suspect in Shuhandler's killing, is a 35-year-old Globe resident whom police called a career criminal with a history of assaulting cops.

Redondo had been released from prison in 2008 after serving 15 months for stalking, child abuse, aggravated assault and domestic violence.

According to online records, the aggravated assault involved a firefighter, but no further details were immediately available.

Maricopa County Superior Court records show he assaulted a DPS officer on Oct. 1, 2002, and served a 10-day jail sentence and three years' probation. The officer, Brandon Powell, complained the plea agreement was too lenient.

Powell said Redondo filed a frivolous police brutality complaint against him that left a blemish on his record. Redondo had a pattern of filing complaints against officers he assaulted, Powell alleged.

According to a presentence report, Powell stopped a car in which Redondo was a passenger because he was pouring out a bottle of alcohol.

Powell was patting down Redondo and felt a metal object in his pockets. That's when Redondo turned and punched Powell. Officers found a pair of pliers on the ground after the scuffle.

Irizarry, the accused driver, is a 30-year-old Gilbert resident, also with a history of violence.

According to a Pinal County Sheriff's Office report, he slugged his 15-year-old stepson in the face with an open palm five times in a 2004 incident. His wife told deputies then that he had assaulted her numerous times, the report states.

100 Club providing help

Mourner Shannon Macanufo said Shuhandler's death reminds the community about the risks police officers face at work every day.

"When they pull you over and they're very cautious, sometimes you're thinking, 'Why are you treating me like a criminal?'" he said. "They don't know who you are, and they have to be very cautious like that."

The 100 Club, an organization that supports public-safety families, will be providing financial assistance to the Shuhandler family.

Anyone wishing to donate directly to the family may do so at any Wells Fargo Bank to the Gilbert Police Department Memorial Account for the Family of Lieutenant Eric Shuhandler, account No. 1359531975. This account information is also available on the 100 Club Web site, at www.100club.org.

A funeral visitation with a closed casket will be held Tuesday in Phoenix. Shuhandler's funeral will be Wednesday in Scottsdale, followed by a procession to the graveside at a Phoenix cemetery.

Condolences for the Shuhandler family may be sent to the Gilbert Police Department, care of Shuhandler Family, 75 E. Civic Center Drive, Gilbert, AZ, 85296.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.