Two law-enforcement officers from the Clifton area were wounded and a man linked to a domestic violence call was killed late Monday in a shootout near Morenci.
The officers, a Clifton police officer and a Greenlee County sheriff’s deputy, were brought to the University of Arizona Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening wounds, according to Sgt. Pete Dugan, a spokesman for the Tucson Police Department.
It is the second time in a month that a domestic violence call in Arizona has resulted in gunfire against a law enforcement officer.
On Dec. 27, Flagstaff police officer Tyler Jacob Stewart, 24, was shot to death by a man he was questioning during a call. The man then committed suicide.
The wounded officers in Monday’s incident were identified as Deputy Jon Mennen, who has been with the Greenlee County Sheriff’s Office for eight months, and Clifton police Sgt. Jason Mingura, a four-year veteran of the force. Both men, in their 20s, are residents of the Clifton-Morenci area, according to a news release.
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The two officers responded to a domestic violence call about 11 p.m. Monday in the town of Morenci, which is northwest of Clifton, authorities said.
The man, later identified as Chris Ingram, 29, had left the scene and a traffic stop was made on U.S. Highway 191.
Gunfire was exchanged and the two officers were struck, authorities said. Ingram was also shot and died from his wounds in the emergency room at the Gila Health Clinic in Morenci.
Mennen and Mingura underwent emergency surgery Tuesday at UAMC. Their families are by their sides.
“They’re both doing well,” said Chief Omar Negrete of the Clifton Police Department. “They’re both in good spirits. They’re happy for the support.”
In a close-knit community like Clifton, where everyone knows each other, the whole community responds to tragedies, said Greenlee Undersheriff Patrick Sexton. The wounded officers are known and loved by many, he added.
“Something like this — it affects the whole community,” he said.
Responding to domestic violence calls is inherently dangerous for law enforcement officers, said Officer Brandon Tatum, a Tucson police spokesman.
“Over the years, we are noticing that one of the most dangerous calls that we respond to are domestic violence situations,” Tatum said.
The parties involved in a domestic violence incident are already heated by the time officers arrive, which could heighten the tension. The presence of police could aggravate the situation, he added.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” he said.
The agencies have requested the Arizona Department of Public Safety conduct a criminal investigation into the shooting of the two officers.
Separate investigations will also be conducted into the officers’ actions as is standard procedure, according to the Greenlee sheriff’s office.
