Three officers who got into a fatal shootout with a man they were trying to arrest earlier this month have been identified.
Aaron Martinka, 28, also has been identified as the man who was shot and killed March 3, during a traffic stop near North Campbell Avenue and East Grant Road, according to a Pima County Regional Critical Incident Team news release Friday.
Martinka was wanted in connection with an aggravated assault case when officers spotted him about 11:30 p.m. Police tried to use a device to stop the car Martinka was driving, but it failed and he sped off, the news release said. He crashed into other vehicles after a short chase, the release said.
Martinka fired at officers as they approached the car. Officers returned fire and Martinka was fatally struck, the release said.
Aaron Martinka, 28, was shot and killed by Tucson police after firing at them during a traffic stop near North Campbell Avenue and East Grant Road, authorities say. Video courtesy of the Pima Regional Critical Incident Team.
A woman passenger who was injured in the wreck was taken to the hospital. She also was wanted in connection to the aggravated assault case, police said.
The woman was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The officers involved in the shooting are Bradley Kush, an 11-year TPD veteran; Adam Smith, a 15-year TPD veteran; and Joe Buck, a 10-year TPD veteran, the news release said.
The Pima County Sheriffβs Department and the Pascua Yaqui Police Department are leading the criminal investigation. TPD is conducting a separate administrative probe.
