On 9/14/18 a Mesa Police officer was on patrol when he encountered David Huffines. Upon making contact with Mr. Huffines, he pulled a weapon on our officer, similar to the one depicted in the image, a .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun. Fearing for his life, our officer pulled his service weapon and fired at Mr. Huffines. Our Officer created distance and retreated to a position of cover away from Mr. Huffines. Our officer lost sight of Mr. Huffines near the front of the officer’s police car. A very short time later, our officer heard a gunshot from the area of the police car. Preliminary information is that Mr. Huffines had 6 entry wounds. Additionally, there was one small caliber wound to the right side of the suspect’s head with an exit wound on the left side. The powder burns and residue at the entry wound indicate this wound was likely self-inflicted. An expended .25 caliber casing was located near the weapon.
We are grateful that our officer survived this deadly encounter; he showed courage and perseverance, this tragic event serves as an example of the dangers associated with protecting our communities. The investigation is on-going, we will update as new information becomes available.
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| Not the actual suspect weapon |
