Man with pellet gun slain by cop
Off-duty officers stop at accident scene; weapon pulled when backup is sought
By Alexis Huicochea
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

A man was killed by an off-duty Tucson police officer after the man pulled a pellet gun on the officer, who had stopped to help what he thought was a motorist in trouble Wednesday morning, police said.

The man killed was identified as Paul J. Hoppler, 28.

Officer Rico M. Acevedo was placed on paid administrative leave, a standard procedure in these types of incidents, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.

The incident occurred at 12:42 a.m. near Miracle Mile and Interstate 10 on the frontage road.

Acevedo and another officer had just ended their shifts at midnight and were heading home in their private vehicles when they spotted a black Volkswagen Jetta up over a curb, Pacheco said.

The vehicle had crashed and two men and a woman were standing outside the car, he said.

One officer stopped to see if the occupants of the car were OK, Pacheco said. He got out of his Chevrolet pickup, and Acevedo arrived shortly thereafter.

Neither officer was in full uniform, but they identified themselves as police, Pacheco said.

Both officers said the men were acting suspiciously and might attempt to steal the pickup, so Acevedo went to his vehicle to call for backup, Pacheco said.
One of the men demanded that Acevedo not call for assistance and knocked the radio from his hand, hitting him in the face.

Hoppler pulled an Airsoft pellet gun that resembled a pistol and pointed it at Acevedo, Pacheco said. A struggle ensued, but Acevedo was unable to get control of the gun.

Hoppler had removed an orange plug from the barrel of the pellet gun to make it look like a real weapon, Pacheco said.

Acevedo managed to distract Hoppler, grabbed his duty weapon from his vehicle and shot Hoppler fatally, Pacheco said.

Hoppler was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other man ran but was caught by responding officers, while the woman remained at the scene, Pacheco said. Their identities have not been released.

Acevedo is an eight-year veteran of the department assigned to the West Side substation. He is a patrol officer, Pacheco said.

The department's homicide unit and internal affairs are investigating the incident, Pacheco said. The Pima County Attorney's Office and a board of inquiry will review the shooting.