Officer Chris Marano, Age 28
Badge Number: 6759
Died December 17, 2009

Officer Chris Marano was struck and killed by a patrol car involved in a vehicle pursuit as he laid out spike strips.

Members of the Arizona Department of Public Safety attempted to stop a vehicle bearing stolen license plates. The vehicle failed to stop and fled. A pursuit ensued, reaching speeds of over 100 Miles Per Hour. Officer Marano was laying out spike strips on the Loop 101 near Phoenix when he was struck and killed by a patrol car involved in the pursuit.

The pursuit continued and the suspect was eventually apprehended during a foot chase after the she bailed out of her vehicle.

Officer Marano had served with the Arizona Department of Public Safety for two years. He is survived by his wife and four children.

On December 17, 2009, at approximately 9:29 p.m., an Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) Officer located a vehicle with a stolen license plate traveling westbound on State Route 101 at 64th street. The officer attempted to stop the vehicle at the 56th street exit. At the 7th Street exit on the Loop 101, DPS Officer Chris Marano was out of his vehicle and in the process of deploying stop sticks, which is a tire deflation device, in an effort to disable the fleeing suspect vehicle and end the pursuit.

Officer Marano was standing in the right shoulder of the freeway. The suspect vehicle veered into the right shoulder while the pursuing DPS patrol vehicle remained in the right travel lane striking Officer Marano.

Officer Marano, 28, of Surprise, Ariz., was transported to John C. Lincoln Hospital North Mountain where he was pronounced deceased at 10:09 p.m. He is survived by his wife, Shelly Marano, and four children ages 7, 5, 5, and 4 months. Officer Marano had served with DPS three and one half years.

The suspect vehicle continued and exited the freeway at 7th Avenue. With the assistance of citizens, officers located the abandoned vehicle at 5th Avenue and Tonopah. A perimeter was established with the aid of Phoenix Police and the Mesa Police helicopter. A Phoenix Police Canine unit located the suspect hiding on the balcony of a condominium. The suspect did not respond to officer’s commands and was bitten by a police canine.

The suspect, Georgia Lynn Baker, 43, of Phoenix was transported to a local hospital for treatment of the bite injury. Investigators believe she was impaired by drugs.

Baker remains in the hospital and will undergo minor surgery. We expect her to be booked into the Maricopa County 4th Avenue Jail. DPS will notify media when the suspect is transported which should be sometime today.

Officer Chris Marano was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from High School in 2000 from Washburn High School in Minnesota before joining the Navy where he was in active service as a military police officer from 2000-2005. Marano was in the Navy reserve from 2005 until 2008. Below is a list of his commendations while in the Navy.

U.S. Navy: 8/13/2000 to 10/13/2005 (required active service)
Served as a Military Police Officer in Naples, Italy and aboard USS Nimitz for a combined 4 years
separated with Honorable discharge.
Awards during active service:
1) 2002 Letter of Commendation for providing protection to a large number of high risk dignitaries in Castel, Volturno, Italy.
2) 2003 Letter of Appreciation for outstanding performance in emergency response of vehicular accident involving a shipmate in Italy
3) 2005 Letter of Commendation Citation for outstanding performance of duty as Watch Commander aboard USS Nimitz.