Homicide

2 officers from same suburban Phoenix police department killed in motorcycle crashes this week

Associated Press
Published | Updated

This combination of undated photos provided by the Chandler Police Department shows police officers Bryant Holmes, left, and David Payne. Holmes was killed by an SUV on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014, when it ran a red light and hit his motorcycle in Chandler, Ariz. Payne, 37, was killed on Friday, Oct. 31, when a vehicle struck his motorcycle from behind at a red light. (AP Photo/Chandler Police Department) (The Associated Press)

This undated photo provided by the Chandler Police Department shows police officer Bryant Holmes, who was killed by an SUV on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014, when it ran a red light and hit his motorcycle in Chandler, Ariz. A second Chandler officer, 37-year-old David Payne, was killed on Friday, Oct. 31, when a vehicle struck his motorcycle from behind at a red light. (AP Photo/Chandler Police Department) (The Associated Press)

This undated photo provided by the Chandler Police Department shows police officer David Payne, who was killed on Friday, Oct. 31, 2014, when a vehicle struck his motorcycle from behind at a red light in Chandler, Ariz. A second Chandler officer, Bryant Holmes, was killed by an SUV on Tuesday, Oct. 28, when it ran a red light and hit his motorcycle in Chandler. (AP Photo/Chandler Police Department) (The Associated Press)

A suburban Phoenix officer has died after being hit by a suspected drunken driver, becoming the second officer from the Chandler Police Department to be killed in motorcycle crashes this week.

Police say 37-year-old Officer David Payne was stopped at a red light early Friday when a vehicle struck his motorcycle from behind.

Police spokesman Joe Favazzo says the other driver left the scene, but officers stopped him a short time later and took him into custody.

Authorities say the suspect, believed to be impaired by alcohol, would be booked into jail on suspicion of manslaughter and hit-and-run.

Payne's death follows another Chandler officer's this week. Authorities say Officer Bryant Holmes was riding his motorcycle to work Tuesday when he was struck by an SUV that ran a red light. That driver stopped.