A 37-year-old man is being kept alive by a ventilator after he stopped breathing while fighting with police, and had to be resuscitated twice, authorities say.
A Denver police officer was on his way to a silent alarm call at 1 a.m. this morning when he saw a man he thought was acting suspiciously near 11th Avenue and Xenia Street.
When the officer stopped and got out of his car, the man attacked him, striking him with his fists, said Virginia Lopez, Denver police spokeswoman.
During the struggle the officer called for backup but before help arrived the man collapsed and was not breathing, she said.
The officer resuscitated the man as other officers arrived at the scene, but when the suspect was conscious he began fighting several officers, Lopez said.
The officers controlled the man only with handcuffs and their hands, she said. The man again stopped breathing and officers resuscitated him a second time, Lopez said.
He was taken to University Medical Center where he is in guarded condition today, she said.
Lopez said the man, who appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, has a lengthy criminal history.
The man faces charges of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, said Lopez.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
