Arizona Deputy Struck, Killed by Vehicle During Struggle


Officer.Com News


An Arizona Deputy was killed in the line of duty August 10, 2005 after being struck by a vehicle as he struggled with a man in the road.

According to a Pima County Sheriff's Department press release, Deputy Timothy David Graham responded to a suspicious person call at Ajo Hwy/Kinney Rd. at approximately 7:52 p.m.

Shortly after arrival, Graham, along with a Good Samaritan who stopped to help, were killed by an oncoming vehicle as they were physically fighting with an out of control subject in the roadway.

According to the department press release, Graham was born January 7, 1975 in Elmhurst, Illinois, and his wish as a child was to become a police officer. He graduated from The College of DuPage with an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice. When he turned 21, he was hired by the Illinois Department of Corrections at Joliet Correctional Center Maximum Security Prison, where he worked for nearly two years.

He then took a job with the Arizona Department of Corrections, where he spent the next three years. In October 2002, he followed his dream of becoming a police officer by applying with the Pima County Sheriff's Department, where he became a recruit on October 27, 2003.

When he graduated from the Southern Arizona Law Enforcement academy, he was assigned to the San Xavier District, where he worked until he was killed in the line of duty on August 10, 2005.

Graham was well respected and known for his hard work and dedication. "Deputy Timothy Graham made the ultimate sacrifice, and will be remembered always," the press release stated.

The department also thanked the family of the Good Samaritan, who was identified as Dawud Isa Abusida.

Donations for Deputy Timothy Graham's family are being accepted at Pima Federal Credit Union under Account Number 1214181 - Timothy Graham Memorial Fund.

Funeral information will be posted when it becomes available.

Prayers sent.

RIP Officer and Samaritan. I'd have done the same thing.

What happened to the piece of shit dirtbag reponsible for this whole mess? And the motorist that wasn't paying attention?

Quoted: RIP Officer and Samaritan. I'd have done the same thing. What happened to the piece of shit dirtbag reponsible for this whole mess? And the motorist that wasn't paying attention?

+1

?

Quoted: RIP Officer and Samaritan. I'd have done the same thing. What happened to the piece of shit dirtbag reponsible for this whole mess? And the motorist that wasn't paying attention?

+1. That just sucks.

no winesses ......i'm sure they just went home..

RIP

Why is there absolutely no mention of the good samaritan who stopped to help and was killed?  

Graham, along with a Good Samaritan who stopped to help, were killed by an oncoming vehicle as they were physically fighting with an out of control subject in the roadway.

Sorry - not trying to start a debate, but seems odd.  May they both RIP.

Quoted: I don't understand, how do you avoid not wrestling with drunks after a dwi stop? I understand the danger of getting hit, but what do you do when a drunk hops out looking to fight/run away?

You make them ride the lightning of course.

RIP to the officer.

Am I the only one on this board, I'm sure that I am not, who pulls into the other lane, on a freeway, to avoid something like this? Seems to me that its just common sense.

Quoted: I don't understand, how do you avoid not wrestling with drunks after a dwi stop? I understand the danger of getting hit, but what do you do when a drunk hops out looking to fight/run away?

Hit their knees with your ASP.

Quoted: RIP to the officer. Am I the only one on this board, I'm sure that I am not, who pulls into the other lane, on a freeway, to avoid something like this? Seems to me that its just common sense.

+1

Did that just today, in fact.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I don't understand, how do you avoid not wrestling with drunks after a dwi stop? I understand the danger of getting hit, but what do you do when a drunk hops out looking to fight/run away? Hit their knees with your ASP. Oh you mean thump them instead of wrestling around? Gotcha. I agree on people who won't change lanes, or who won't let you pull over to avoid a pulled over car-makes me nervous as hell, someone boots that trooper with the door then he's all of a sudden in my lane...

Usually the wrestling takes place when you go to put the cuffs on.

Quoted: The department also thanked the family of the Good Samaritan, who was identified as Dawud Isa Abusida.

RIP Officer Graham.

Need more info...

The department also thanked the family of the Good Samaritan, who was identified as Dawud Isa Abusida.
a good guy this time

By Alexis Huicochea and Becky Pallack
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Authorities have released the name of a Pima County Sheriff's Deputy killed in the line of duty Wednesday night near West Ajo Way and South Kinney Road, the name of a man who died while trying to help him and the name of a suspect who started a fight with them.

Deputy Timothy David Graham, 30, went to a Circle K at the intersection around 8 p.m., after a 911 call reported a "crazed man" at the store. That man, 23-year-old Aaron Swyers, fought Graham across the gas station lot, across the eastbound lanes of traffic and into a wide median with tall grass.

A nearby taxi cab driver, Dawud Isa Abusida, 56, who saw the deputy's struggle, parked his car and ran to help. With his assistance, Graham was able to get handcuffs on one of the Swyers's wrists.

But during the struggle, all three men fell into the westbound fast lane and were hit by a pickup driven by a 70-year-old man, who had his 12-year-old grandson with him. Officials have not yet released the name of the driver. Graham, Abusida and Swyers died at the scene.

"This is a very somber day," sheriff's Capt. Rick Kastigar said Thursday morning. "We're very saddened not only by the tragic death of our officer, but also by the tragic death of a good Samaritan who tried to help our officer. We are also deeply troubled that the suspect died. This has affected each of us to the soul."

Swyers had called 911 three times Wednesday night between 6:15 p.m. and 8 p.m. Deputies have "an extensive history with this individual, criminal history as well as mental health issues," Kastigar said.

Wednesday night, "he was making comments that appeared paranoid," he said.

The investigation is ongoing, although Arizona Department of Public Safety accident investigators finished their task of reconstructing the accident around 4 a.m., said Officer Jim Oien, a department spokesman. The Sheriff's Department requested DPS investigate.

By 7 a.m., remnants of crime scene tape and silk roses attached with duct tape started makeshift memorials on a "Keep off median" sign at the intersection. A lone white rose was taped to a road reflector near the Circle K driveway.

Graham, originally from Elmhurst, Ill., had worked for the sheriff's department since October 2002. Prior to that, he worked for the Arizona Department of Corrections for four years.

He is survived by his wife, Sherry Diebolt-Graham, and two step-sons, ages 8 and 11. The couple had been married only a few weeks.

Abusida is survived by a wife and son. Graham's death comes a little more than two years after Tucson police Officer Patrick K. Hardesty was shot and killed on Memorial Day 2003.

Before Wednesday night, eight Pima County deputies had died in the line of duty since 1883.

Something must have gone terribly wrong, because, I think all Deputies now cary the Taser

Quoted: Quoted: RIP to the officer. Am I the only one on this board, I'm sure that I am not, who pulls into the other lane, on a freeway, to avoid something like this? Seems to me that its just common sense. In TX it is now a law to that you have to move over.  If you are on a two lane road, you are to move over as much as safely possible and slow way down.

Shouldn't have to be a law, it is just common sense to move over and/or slow down.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: RIP to the officer. Am I the only one on this board, I'm sure that I am not, who pulls into the other lane, on a freeway, to avoid something like this? Seems to me that its just common sense. In TX it is now a law to that you have to move over.  If you are on a two lane road, you are to move over as much as safely possible and slow way down. Shouldn't have to be a law, it is just common sense to move over and/or slow down.

In MN it is the law after trooper Ted Foss got killed by a fedex truck

This was a foot pursuit that went into the median of a high speed road.  A 70 year old man hit them all.  The patrol car was in the convenience store parking lot where the incident began, probably with no emergency lights on.  The old man probably did not see them in the road, where they should not have been.

Read, people.  Don't Monday morning quarterback it.  I will post firsthand info if it can be released, as soon as I have it.

Quoted:

Quoted: Quoted: RIP to the officer. Am I the only one on this board, I'm sure that I am not, who pulls into the other lane, on a freeway, to avoid something like this? Seems to me that its just common sense. +1 Did that just today, in fact.

I do that too.  I think it was made law recently but not positive.  If I am in the fast lane, I will also make room for someone in the right hand lane to get over.  But they rarely do.....


ETA.....I bet it was made law along with MN and IL.

The whole thing sux ass........RIP fellas.