A Tucson police officer who shot and killed a suspected armed robber Monday was identified Tuesday as the same officer who has killed three other suspects in the line of duty.
Officer Jeff Stover, a 23-year veteran of Tucson Police Department, was cleared of wrongdoing in each of the previous suspect shootings, which occurred in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Now Stover is back on paid leave again as the department reviews his actions in Monday’s death of Mark Powell, 39.
Powell died at a hospital shortly after police said he robbed a check-cashing store then pulled out a handgun during a clash with officers responding to the call.
TPD spokesman Sgt Pete Dugan said it's unusual, but not unheard of, for one officer to be involved in four separate killings of suspects.
"It is a rare occasion where you have an officer involved in that many shootings, but it does happen. We have officers that work in busier areas than others."
Monday's fatal incident, like the ones before it, will be the subject of several investigations and reviews, including one by a critical incident review board that includes civilian membership, Dugan said.
Stover was found to be justified in the killings of the three earlier suspects.
Domestic violence suspect Miguel Angel Kovrig, 40, died in September 2005 after threatening to kill his wife with a gun. The suspect’s blood alcohol level was thre times the legal driving limit when the incident occurred in the 700 block of West Harlan Street.
Five months later, in February 2006, Stover shot and killed suspect DeAngelo Cazares Rivera, 25, while responding to a 911 call from the suspect’s girlfriend in the 6200 block of South Campbell Avenue .Police said Stover fired on Rivera after the suspect pulled a gun from his waistband.
The following year, in May 2007, Stover shot and killed suspect Walter Canez, 48. The incident occurred after a convenience store clerk reported a man waving a gun around near South Martin Ave and East 34th Street.
Star archives show Stover was fired from the police department for alleged excessive force a few years into his career.
He was let go in 1996 after a grand jury indicted him for aggravated assault for allegedly kicking and punching a restrained suspect who'd just been arrested following a high speed chase.
Stover pleaded not guilty and won his job back on appeal after the criminal case was dismissed.
