14 DAY TRIAL // A traffic police officer has been killed in a hit-and-run in Phoenix after pulling a driver on the right. According to AZ Family, Daryl Raetz was killed on Sunday, May 19, at 3:30 a.m.
He was joined by other officers in questioning a motorist in a case of driving under the influence of alcohol. Before talking to the driver, he was hit by an oncoming car.
“Some of our officers were investigating a DUI case in the area of 51st Avenue and Cambridge.
“They had stopped a vehicle they were in the process of processing that motorist when one of our officers was struck by a northbound vehicle on 51st Avenue,” Sgt. Tommy Thompson with the Phoenix Police Dept. stated.
Raetz was hit by a suspect driving a large, dark colored SUV. There is no other information on the make and model of the vehicle at this point.
The person driving the SUV did not stop after the incident, and police are still looking for the car and the suspect.
“The driver of the SUV fled the scene and remains at large,” a spokesperson for the Phoenix Police Department said in a statement published on their website.
29-year-old Raetz was employed by the Phoenix PD for six years and previously served in Iraq.
“Officer Raetz was a veteran of the Iraq war and had served with the Phoenix Police Department for six years. He is survived by his wife and child,” the police document reads.
Phoenix Police Chief Daniel Garcia expressed his condolences to the slain officer's family in a press release.
“I honestly don't have the words to describe the sorrow in my heart for Daryl Raetz and his family. [...] He was one of Phoenix's finest. One of our heroes,” Garcia says.