PHOENIX — A Maricopa County man, Marc Laquon Payne, who ran down police officers, was sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of Attempted 1st Degree Murder, four counts of Aggravated Assault, two counts each of Endangerment and Criminal Damage and one count of Resisting Arrest.
According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Payne backed a car into a parking space at a convince store in West Phoenix in the early morning hours of September 13, 2016. A short time later three uniformed officers standing next to a marked police vehicle heard his car revving before he drove right at them. The officers only had seconds to react prior to being stuck, and video of the incident showed no indication that he attempted to use his brakes. The car struck the officers and then continued into the convenience store building where two workers were inside.
After the collision one of the injured officers attempted to take Payne into custody, however once he was out of the car he became combative fighting and hitting the injured officer causing further injury. Another of the injured officers was able to successfully take Payne into custody after using his Taser.
The three officers were taken to a local hospital for treatment. The convenience store employees were not injured.