For the fifth time in six days, a Phoenix police officer has been shot. Officer Matt Morgan was hit three times during a routine traffic stop last Thursday, says the Arizona Republic. Morgan’s shooting occurred shortly before police gathered for a memorial visitation for Officer Jason Wolfe, who was killed, along with Officer Eric White, in a gun battle the previous Saturday. The series of shootings is considered extraordinary even in a large city, leaving some officers stunned and giving others even more resolve to uphold the law. “It’s a horrible feeling. It feels like it’s becoming a trend that people are thinking, ‘Let’s take a potshot at an officer,’ ” Officer Paul Mancha said.
“It’s just a state of shock,” Detective Bryan Chapman said. “Officers are wondering when it’s going to stop and if it’s going to stop.” Wolfe and White were killed Saturday night during a battle with a suicidal suspect. On Wednesday night, a member of the department’s tactical team, was shot in the chest by a man barricaded inside his home with his 4-year-old son. “As resilient as we all are, this is taking a heavy toll,” said Jake Jacobsen, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association. “This is taxing our resources and our resolve right now.”