Thornton police shoot man who shot at officers after Denver chase

The Denver Police Department is investigating an early morning Denver shooting in which a Thornton police officer shot and injured a man who had allegedly shot at officers multiple times after he was suspected of being involved in a burglary in Thornton.

The shooting happened about 3:45 a.m. in the 4800 block of Eliot Street after Thornton officers chased the vehicle suspected in the burglary into Denver after the occupants of the vehicle shot at officers, leading to the police chase that brought them into Denver Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said in a press conference. No Denver police officers took part in the chase or shooting.

Thornton officers were investigating the burglary near 100th Avenue and Quivas Street and identified the vehicle as possibly involved in the burglary. An unmarked police vehicle was following the vehicle when the occupants shot at the officers in the 8400 block of Greenwood Boulevard.

Marked police vehicles then arrived at the scene and began pursuing the vehicle, which drove away south on Interstate 25 into Denver, Thomas said.

The vehicle then drove into a Denver neighborhood, where they crashed into a retaining barrier near the 4800 block of Eliot Street. The driver and a passenger got out and ran away.

Thomas said the passenger was caught and put into Thornton police custody without incident.

The driver ran a short distance before turning around and firing at the officer who was pursuing him, Thomas said. The officer was not hit and returned fire, hitting the man in the “lower extremity.”

Officers rendered aid to the man, and he was taken to a hospital where he is in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries, Thomas said.

The Denver Police Department, Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Bureau of Investigations will investigate the incident, Thomas said.

Source: Read Full Article