Phoenix Police kill west valley man Original Article Phoenix police officer shot Laura Houston The Arizona Republic Mar. 19, 2006 12:00 AM A man died of gunshot wounds after a five-hour standoff with more than 100 law enforcement officers outside his house in West Phoenix on Saturday. He had barricaded himself in the house near 72nd Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road after exchanging gunfire with officers, wounding a Phoenix police officer and a sheriff's canine. The officer, who has not been identified, and the dog were in stable condition Saturday evening, a Phoenix police spokeswoman, Sgt. Lauri Williams, said. The suspect had not been officially identified late Sunday. Maricopa County sheriff's Deputy Doug Matteson said the suspect had been on the phone with negotiators. Matteson could not confirm whether officers had lost contact with the man before the order was given to enter the home. There, officers found the suspect dead. During the standoff, the suspect spent much time on the phone with police and family members. Sharee Hicks of Mesa was one of them, calling the man just to check up on him, only to hear him breathing irregularly and talking about trying to pull through. For hours, Hicks clung to a cellphone, using a grapevine of family phone calls for clues about what might be going on behind the barricade and if the suspect would come out alive. "They need to just break the door down, get him and get him on out. Get him to the hospital," Hicks said about one hour before police sent out a notice, confirming that the suspect was dead. People believed to be the suspect's family members cried as armored cars pulled away from the neighborhood. Residents, finally able to enter their homes after the barricade ended, stood and watched as police trickled out of their neighborhood. "There's no more barricade. . . . The house is secure," Williams said at about 6 p.m. The incident began about 1 p.m. when Maricopa County sheriff's officers responded to a report of a car accident near 75th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road. Eyewitnesses said the parties involved in the accident had confronted each other, with one individual brandishing a gun, said Lt. Paul Chagolla, a spokesman with the Sheriff's Office. Officers tracked one of the men, later identified as the suspect, back to his house in a nearby neighborhood, across the street from Santa Maria Middle School. Gunfire was exchanged as officers searched the house, Chagolla said, wounding the officer and Sheriff's Office canine. The officer was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was in stable condition Saturday evening, Williams said. Staff reporter Corinne Purtill contributed to this article.