Officer Erik Hite
End of Watch: June 2, 2008
Tucson Police Department

Officer Erik Hite succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained the previous day by a suspect who was fleeing deputies from the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

The suspect had shot and wounded two deputies who had responded to two homes that the suspect had fired a rifle into. The suspect then fled the home in a vehicle, with one of the wounded deputies in pursuit.

During the pursuit the suspect suddenly made a U-turn and fired at Officer Hite, who was sitting in his patrol car.

The suspect continued to flee but stopped his vehicle a short time later and surrendered.

Officer Hite was a U.S. Air Force veteran and had served with the Tucson Police Department for 4 years. He is survived by his wife, son, daughter, and parents.

Hite, 43, was fatally wounded Sunday during an hour-long cross-town shooting spree that also wounded two Pima County Sheriff’s deputies. His killer, 25-year-old David Nickolas Delich, is facing charges including one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder and remains in the Pima County jail in lieu of $2.5 million bond.