Gilbert, Az. Police Lt. Eric Shuhandler is seen in an undated photo provided by the Gilbert, Az., Police Dept. Schuhandler was shot and killed during a traffic stop Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010, and two suspects were wounded after a 50-mile high-speed chase that ended in a shootout, authorities said Friday. (AP Photo/Gilbert Police Dept.)
GILBERT, Ariz. (AP) — Dozens of people are paying their respects to a Gilbert police officer killed during a traffic stop at a makeshift memorial outside the strip mall where he was shot.
Lt. Eric Shuhandler, 42, was shot in the face Thursday night in a parking lot near the southeast Phoenix suburb of Gilbert after he pulled over a truck for having an obscured license plate and then discovered one of the occupants had an arrest warrant.
The mourners included people Shuhandler had mentored and those who wanted to thank the 16-year police force veteran for his service. Flowers and balloons decorated the memorial.
Natalie Henning, who recently received a degree in criminal justice, said Shuhandler told her if she needed anything, to come see him.
“I could just tell he was very passionate about his job,” Henning said. “He loved what he did.”
Gilbert police spokesman Sgt. Mark Marino said Shuhandler was a model officer.
“He (didn’t) sit behind a desk and wait to be called out,” Marino said. “He’s actively looking for criminal activity (and) becoming involved in cases.”
Shuhandler grew up in New Jersey and moved to Arizona after working for the Manasquan, N.J., Police Department in 1990 and 1991.
Mourner Shannon Macanufo said Shuhandler’s death reminds the community about the risks police officers face at work every day.
“When they pull you over and they’re very cautious, sometimes you’re thinking, ‘Why are you treating me like a criminal?’” he said. “They don’t know who you are, and they have to be very cautious like that.”
Police have identified the suspects as Christopher A. Redondo, 35, of Globe, and Daimen Irizarry, 30, of Gilbert.
The two men led dozens of Arizona law officers on a 50-mile midnight chase that ended in Superior with a gunfight. Both suspects survived.
Redondo is believed to have been the gunman and Irizarry the driver who led officers on the pursuit.
Shuhandler is survived by his ex-wife, daughters, ages 10 and 12, his parents and a sister.
A funeral visitation with a closed casket will be held Tuesday in Phoenix. Shuhandler’s funeral will be Wednesday in Scottsdale, followed by a procession to the graveside at a Phoenix cemetery.
A memorial fund has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
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