The two undercover police detectives shot in Phoenix, Arizona (identified as Detective Albert J. Casados and Detective John Hobbs) made a series of critical errors that lead directly to the one officer getting killed and the other getting seriously wounded in a deadly shoot out with a suspect on March 4, 2014.
1) Neither officer was wearing a bullet proof vest.
2) They were “spotted” by the suspect during a surveillance operation (of a local business), the suspect then tried to allude the police in his vehicle. Indicating there was something wrong with their surveillance trade craft and methodology used during the operation. Meaning that their unmarked vehicle was not properly concealed or hidden while conducting the surveillance – deemed a critical error in this case.
3) The officers then engaged the suspect in a high speed pursuit down busy valley streets, resulting in an accident at an intersection with two vehicles – in a three car collision.
4) The officers apparently rolled up on the suspects location and made the fatal assumption that the suspect was unarmed. Especially judging how close the officers vehicle was to the suspects car at the time of the shoot out. According to witness statement the suspect “immediately opened fire on the two officers” (source: Phoenix Police Shooting http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Phoenix-police-Fatally-wounded-officer-fired-back-5286422.php).
5) The driver of the unmarked police vehicle positioned his vehicle in such a way as to be unable to protect himself or his partner who was shot after trying to exit the passenger side door to engage the suspect in a gun fight.
6) Driver then exited his vehicle in such a way as he was unable to prevent himself from getting shot in the lower body region.
7) Both officers fired over more than a dozen shots at the suspect – some bullets ricochet off buildings and surfaces to the left of where the suspect was standing , including three rounds which hit a bus stop across the street and near a 99 cent store.
See related reports:
Source: Phoenix Police officer dies after shootout http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/phoenix-police-officer-dies-after-shootout/2014/03/03/0f6c3200-a338-11e3-b865-38b254d92063_story.html
Both officers were members of Phoenix Police Department elite unit:
“The MOB (Major Offender Bureau) unit comprises 20-plus detectives who spend their days tracking down the worst and most violent criminals on the streets” (source: Slain Phoenix detective’s elite unit tracks worst of the worst http://www.kpho.com/story/24892119/slain-phoenix-detectives-elite-unit-tracks-worst-of-the-worst).