Phoenix Police Say Officer Moldovan Was Shot 8 Times, Including Once to the Head

Newly obtained court documents by Arizona’s Family revealed that Phoenix Police Officer Tyler Moldovan was shot eight times, including once to the head.

Tyler Moldovan

Police were first called out to reports of vehicles speeding and doing “donuts” near 19th Avenue and Camelback Road just after 2 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Phoenix police say the officer who was shot multiple times remains in the hospital Wednesday morning. He is still listed in critical condition.

Callers reported that a Black Dodge Charger and a White Dodge Challenger were the vehicles involved. {snip}

A few moments later, police were able to find a Black Charger pulled into the parking lot near 15th Avenue and Camelback, where a man, now identified as Essa Williams, was seen jumping the fence into the complex, leaving his vehicle. Court paperwork says that the vehicle had a gun case inside.

Essa Williams

Phoenix Police created a perimeter to search for Williams after he ran off. Ultimately, authorities were able to find him in a covered patio inside the apartment complex. Officers on the scene reportedly heard Williams say that he was speaking to someone on the phone, telling them that he was “going to jail.”

The officer who spotted Williams asked him if he had any weapons and he said no. At that point, he pulled a handgun from his waist and shot officer 22-year-old Tyler Moldovan approximately eight times, including to his head. Court paperwork says the Moldovan fell to the ground and was unresponsive after the first shots were fired.

Williams reportedly continued firing at Moldovan after he was lying on the ground. It was then that Williams “jumped out of the patio, dropped his handgun, and tried multiple times to pull the injured police officers handgun from his holster,” police paperwork said.

{snip}

Following his arrest, Williams made comments asking officers to shoot him, and saying that another person had shot the officer.

{snip}