Left image: Zane Coolidge from Phoenix Police Department. Right image: Saul Bal from Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. Background: The crime scene (KTVK/KPHO).
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against an Arizona man accused of killing a cop responding to a call of a car break-in.
Saul Bal, aged 41, is charged with first-degree murder and various other offenses in connection with the tragic death of Officer Zane Coolidge, aged 29. Apart from the murder accusation, Bal is also accused of trying to murder, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, and illegally possessing a weapon. The prosecution has indicated their intention to seek the death penalty.
The incident occurred on September 3 in the vicinity of 16th Street and McDowell Road in Phoenix when Coolidge and another officer, Matthew Haney, went to respond to a report of a vehicle break-in. Upon the officers’ arrival, the individual, identified as Bal by the police, fled and leaped over a fence into a backyard. He opened fire on the officers, injuring both before being apprehended.
Haney, 31, was hospitalized before going home to recover from his wounds.
Coolidge died at a hospital on Sept. 6.
“The men and women in blue are heroes,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said. “It is unthinkable that someone would take one of their lives. The person who took Officer Coolidge’s life will be held accountable.”
At Coolidge’s funeral, his wife, Kristen, said her husband was “one of the good ones.” Coolidge had been on the Phoenix police force for five years. His daughter was 5 months old when her father was killed.
The city remembered Coolidge as an amazing husband, father, son, brother, friend and beloved member of the Phoenix Police Department. His flag-wrapped body was driven through the streets of Phoenix for a police motorcade funeral procession.
“Officer Coolidge’s legacy will forever be a part of this Department,” Interim Phoenix Police Chief Michael G. Sullivan said. “Officer Coolidge’s family is dealing with unimaginable grief. We will do everything we can to help them through their darkest hours, and we pledge that they will always be a part of the Phoenix Police Family.”
Local news group Arizona’s Family identified 40 criminal charges against Bal over the past 17 years.
Bal was on parole from the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry at the time of the shootings, with his term expected to end on Sept. 23, 2024, officials said.
He had previously been sentenced to prison multiple times in Arizona and served two years in a California jail, The Associated Press reported.
Bal is expected to appear in court on March 6, online records show.
