Man Shot, Killed While Driving Away In Patrol Car: Police

PHOENIX, AZ — An early morning police shooting in Phoenix left a 39-year-old man dead, according to Phoenix police.

Adam Vespoli was suspected of getting into the driver's seat of a Phoenix Police Department patrol car and starting to drive away, when an officer shot him, police said in a news release.

Vespoli was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries, according to police.

The officer, who had his foot on the running board of the patrol car when Vespoli drove away, was treated for minor injuries, police said.

Around 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Phoenix police were called to the intersection of 75th Avenue and Buckeye Road for two men, one of them Vespoli, who refused to get off of a city bus, according to police.

An officer parked his patrol car in front of the bus, got on the bus and told Vespoli and the other man to leave.

That's when Vespoli is suspected of getting off the bus and climbing into the driver's seat of the patrol car. The officer was talking to the other man when he noticed Vespoli was in the patrol car.

The officer ran to the police car as Vespoli is suspected of shifting into drive. That's when the officer put his foot on the running board, pulled out his gun and told Vespoli to get out of the car, according to police.

The officer fired as Vespoli began to accelerate, police said. The car stopped after it hit a nearby tree, according to police.