PHOENIX, AZ- A Qatari man still in America on a student visa was shot and killed after attacking an Arizona state trooper this week.
It happened while the officer was patrolling for drunken drivers along with a member of the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving, authorities said Friday.
The state trooper spotted 25-year-old Mohamed Ahmed Al-Hashemi throw a street sign onto a road in suburban Phoenix late Thursday and ordered him to pick it up, said Col. Frank Milstead, director of the Department of Public Safety.
Al-Hashemi wouldn’t pick it up, then began walking in the middle of the road and wouldn’t obey commands to stop, Milstead said.
Breaking; Dashcam video shows 25 yo man fighting with DPS trooper in street. Trooper was hit on the head, eventually fired service weapon at the man, described as a Qatar national here on a student visa #Fox10Phoenix
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Trooper Hugh Grant used a stun gun, but it didn’t subdue Al-Hashemi, who then rushed the officer and punched and kicked him.
“It was a vicious encounter,” Milstead said before showing dashboard camera video of the attack. “He was in a fight for his life.”
The video shows the men tussling, and at one point, Al-Hashemi throws Grant to the ground.
Al-Hashemi struck the trooper with fists, headbutt, and full-kick strikes, taking him down to the ground at least three times.
Police said Al-Hashemi then got the trooper’s taser and hit him over the head with the weapon.
After Al-Hashemi kicked the trooper in the head a number of times, the trooper began to feel a loss of consciousness.
The trooper then fired his weapon, killing Al-Hashemi, the DPS chief said.
A civilian witness, presumably the woman riding with the trooper, can be heard saying shots fired.
Grant feared for his life and the life of a woman riding along with him as a member of the group also known as MADD. Police often allow private citizens and journalists to come on “ride-alongs” while they patrol.
“When he began to realize this was escalating, he was trying to keep her out of danger,” Milstead said.
Authorities said they didn’t know if Al-Hashemi was impaired. The trooper had injuries to his face and head and is resting at home.
Authorities say Al-Hashemi was arrested for trespassing at the Islamic Community Center of Tempe on Wednesday. Police in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe responded to a disturbance at the mosque around 4:30 a.m. At the center’s request, officers gave Al-Hashemi a warning and told him not to return, police spokesman Greg Bacon said.
Al-Hashemi returned in the early afternoon and officers were called again. Bacon said he was then arrested on a misdemeanor charge of trespassing and booked into jail.
It’s unclear how long Al-Hashemi has been living in the U.S. He was a former student at Arizona State University, which is based in Tempe, according to school officials. They didn’t provide other details.
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