Graphic dashcam footage shows Arizona police car ramming into suspect to detain him

Warning: video contains graphic content some views may find distressing

The police officer hit the man with his car and smashed into a cement wall

Graphic dashcam footage obtained from a police officer’s car shows an officer following a suspect in his vehicle before mounting the pavement and running him over to detain him.

Police in Arizona released video footage from the incident on 19 February this week. The Marana police department claimed the suspect Mario Valencia was armed and had fired a gun into the air. The force insists it actually saved his life by hitting him because he had threatened suicide, according to Tuscon News Now.

The disturbing video shows the car being driven by officer Michael Rapiejko hitting Valencia and smashing into a cement wall. Before this, an officer in a second police car can be heard instructing the other police vehicles that the man is armed, telling them repeatedly to stay back. Seconds later, Rapiejko’s car is seen ramming into Valencia, to which another officer shouts: “Oh! Jesus Christ, man down, man down” over the radio.

The officers then left their cars and ran towards the man while holding their guns. Marana police said Valencia had stolen a weapon from a Wal-Mart store in Tuscan and had been connected to three other incidents in the area. He was taken to the University of Arizona Medical Centre for treatment, where he stayed for two days before being transferred to prison.

"This was a dangerous felon who'd been on a crime spree throughout the morning," Marana Police Sgt. Chris Warren said in February. "He'd just stolen a weapon, loaded it, was not obeying commands from officers and was walking toward occupied businesses.

“It's a busy time of morning, a lot of employees at work, a lot getting ready to come out for breaks, he's walking toward those businesses. So we had to take immediate action and make sure he didn't get inside those businesses."

Valencia is due to appear in court on 18 May to face 15 charges. He is being detained in the Pima County Jail.