Buckeye officer `executed' during traffic stop
by Jim Cross/KTAR (May 2nd, 2011 @ 10:33am)



PHOENIX — A Buckeye police officer was executed -- shot from behind and killed -- while working a private security job, investigators said.

Officer Rolando Tirado was killed and Officer Christopher Paz critically wounded outside the El Gran Mercado around 1 a.m. Saturday. The two were in uniform, but working a private security job.

Phoenix Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said the problems began when the officers stopped a car that was moving erratically. He said a passenger in the car, Cesar Leon, got out and killed Tirado.

"Shooting him from behind," Thompson said. "He never knew what was coming."

Thompson said Leon then was involved in a gunbattle with Paz.

"Let me say this was a life or death gunbattle. Officer Paz was struck numerous times."

Paz, who remained in critical condition Monday, shot and killed Leon.

A second suspect was shot but survived. A third fled and remained at large Monday. Those suspects were not identified.

Leon had a long history with police in California, Thompson said. He did not elaborate.

Tirado had worked in law enforcement 11 years, seven of those with the Buckeye Police Department. He was married with two children.

Paz had been with the department for four years.

The El Gran Mercado is a swap meet that also has an open-air nightclub with a stage for concerts and a dance floor.

Arizona law enforcement officers frequently work private security jobs or road construction safety assignments to supplement their income, Thompson said. They generally work in uniform.