PHOENIX, Arizona — The Phoenix Police Department (PPD) has lost 20 officers to murder since 1981 — seven of those officers were killed by illegal aliens. With its close proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border and being situated in the path of main drug trafficking routes for Mexican transnational organized criminal groups (cartels), the PPD and other law enforcement agencies in the Phoenix metro area have suffered numerous deaths and serious injuries to officers at the hands of criminals illegally in the United States. Some of these criminals had numerous previous deportations, but were able to re-enter the U.S. through its porous southern border.

Below is a list of Phoenix police officers murdered by illegal aliens since 1981:

July 1, 1981 – Officers Ignacio Conchos and John Davis were both shot by an illegal

alien who was an armed bank robbery suspect. Conchos died immediately and Davis succumbed to his

wounds one month later.

May 27, 1988 – Officer Ken Collins was murdered by an illegal alien carrying out an armed bank robbery in Phoenix. The illegal alien was tied to a drug gang.

March 26, 1999 – Officer Todd Atkinson was murdered by an illegal alien suspected of drug activity. Officer Atkinson was murdered after being ambushed by multiple suspects.

September 18, 2007 – Officer Nick Erfle was murdered by an illegal alien during a routine stop for a civil traffic infraction. Officer Erfle was shot once, the suspect returned to where Officer Erfle lay and fired one more round, execution-style

October 25, 2008 – Officer Shane Figueroa was killed by an illegal alien who was driving a vehicle while intoxicated.

May 19, 2013 – Officer Daryl Raetz was struck and killed by an illegal alien driving an SUV while on foot investigating an earlier traffic accident.

Additionally, the following Phoenix officers were seriously injured by illegal aliens:

May 21, 1994 – Phoenix Police Officer Saul Ayala was shot in the face by an illegal alien with a shotgun. The alien had previously been deported and was a gang member that called themselves the “Wetback Power Gang.”

September 15, 1997 – SWAT Officers Jim Kliewer and Officer Jerry Kilgore were shot by an illegal alien who had violated the terms of his probation. The suspect had been placed on probation by a judge even though he was an illegal alien.

December 21, 1997 – Phoenix Police Officer Brian Wilbur was seriously injured when he was struck by a car driven by an intoxicated illegal alien. Brian was attempting to remove an injured animal from the roadway.

March 26, 2001 – Officer Jason Schecterle was severely burned when an illegal alien driving a taxi cab collided into the rear of his police car. Officer Schecterle was eventually forced him to medically retire.

April 12, 2003 – Officer Robert Sitek was shot and seriously injured by an illegal alien involved in an armed car-jacking.

October 16, 2007 – Officer Brett Glidewell was shot in the chest by an armed illegal alien who had been stopped for a civil traffic violation.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas)