Police say a suspected drunken driver shot and killed Colorado Springs Officer Kenneth Chua Jordan during a traffic stop late Monday night, marking the department’s second fatal shooting in the line of duty this year.
Jordan, a 32-year-old Chicago native, served six years with the force and specialized in DUI cases.
Police returned fire and wounded the driver, 25-year-old Marco Reiner Lee of Colorado Springs. Both Jordan and Lee were transported to Memorial Hospital, where Jordan died about 12:18 a.m. Tuesday.
Lee is expected to survive.
Interim Police Chief David Felice described a department stunned by the death of an officer honored for his efforts to curb drunken driving in the Colorado Springs area.
“‘Shock’ is probably the most appropriate word,” Felice said. “This is unusual for our department. It’s been over 20 years since we’ve had a (fatal) shooting here, and now we’ve had two in 10 months.”
In February, Officer Jared Jensen was shot and killed while trying to arrest a man suspected of stabbing his own sister.
In Monday’s incident, police said an officer with the department’s Sand Creek Division stopped a driver suspected of driving under the influence about 11 p.m. in the 4400 block of Fountain Boulevard in the city’s southeast section, about a mile from the airport.
The officer, believing Lee to be intoxicated, returned to his car and called for backup.
Jordan and another officer responded to the scene to assist in evaluating the driver, but as Jordan stood near the driver-side door, Lee pulled a handgun and opened fire, striking the officer multiple times, police said.
Sources close to the investigation told The Denver Post that Jordan was shot at least four times – once in the front, below his bulletproof vest and three times in the back, above the vest.
The other officers then opened fire, striking Lee.
At 9 a.m. Tuesday, police still scoured the scene on a bridge above Sand Creek, where Lee’s vehicle sat in front of three Colorado Springs police cars – two of which were still flashing their overhead lights. A single bullet hole could be seen in the windshield of the cruiser parked immediately behind Lee’s vehicle.
Officers picked up and marked as evidence a handgun lying on the ground. A pile of bloody clothing sat nearby.
A few minutes later, officers secured an American flag to the bridge railing, which they flew at half-staff.
Lee had two previous DUI arrests this year, including one in March that featured a high-speed chase and his arrest on several charges, including carrying a concealed weapon.
Lee got a three-year deferred sentence in that case, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records. Two months later, he was arrested on another DUI charge, and he faces a court date in that case next month.
In the March incident, police stopped Lee for speeding on Interstate 25, but he refused to sign the ticket, instead wadding it up and speeding away – cutting off another driver in the process, according to the arrest affidavit. The officer gave chase.
Lee struck the center-median barrier with his vehicle during the pursuit but finally pulled over. As the officer, gun drawn, approached him, Lee fled again.
Police broke off the pursuit when Lee exited the highway and ran two red lights, but they later found the abandoned vehicle and contacted Lee at an apartment complex. He took off running, and officers pursued him on foot.
When they caught him, police found an empty holster inside his waistband and, soon after, found a handgun in the parking lot where the vehicle had been left.
“I never, for a second, guess the mind of a suspect,” police chief Felice said Tuesday. “I don’t know if any of us will ever know what was going through Marco Lee’s mind last night.”
DeAndre Barnes told The Gazette of Colorado Springs that Lee, whom he identified as his stepbrother, used his cellphone to call a friend after Monday’s initial police stop. Lee told the friend that he loved his family but was “tired of all this drama.”
“I’m sorry, but this is it,” Lee said just before opening fire, Barnes told The Gazette.
“He just thinks different,” Barnes added. “He thinks like the world is all against him.”
On a profile page on MySpace.com, Lee writes that he attended Sierra High School in Colorado Springs and lists “firing range” first among several interests, which also include hiking, camping and fishing. He says he works at a Denver glass company.
Chad Kohl, who works with Lee at Fargo’s Pizza Co. in Colorado Springs, said Lee has worked in the kitchen for seven or eight years and occasionally worked as a bartender.
He said he saw nothing in Lee’s personality to indicate the potential for the shooting that has rocked the city.
Army Spec. Jennifer Page, 28, was asleep in a nearby residence when she woke to gun shots – a disquieting jolt for a soldier recently returned from Iraq.
“It must be hard for these officers,” she said. “Even if they didn’t know him personally, it’s still hard to lose a comrade – a fellow officer, a fellow soldier, a fellow anything. It’s just hard to lose someone.”
Staff writers Kevin Simpson and Mike McPhee contributed to this report.
Officers hurt or killed in Colo. Springs
Recent incidents in which an officer was wounded or killed in the line of duty:
Tuesday: Ken Jordan was shot and killed during a traffic stop of a suspected drunken driver.
Nov. 7: An unidentified SWAT officer was shot in the arm by a robbery suspect after the suspect had barricaded himself at a house off South Nevada Avenue. The suspect was also wounded after firing at police.
Feb. 22: Jared Jensen was shot and killed as he awaited backup while apprehending a man who was wanted in the stabbing of his own sister. Jensen had pulled out a pair of handcuffs to arrest the suspect when he was shot at least twice at close range.
December 1982: Mark L. Dabling was shot in the back after he stopped a motorist for a traffic offense.
March 1981: Michael F. Hurley, an off-duty officer, was stabbed to death in a street fight after following a car with four people, one of whom may have been carrying a gun.
April 1980: Augustus Perriera was shot by a man with a long history of mental illness who was causing a disturbance at a convenience store.
December 1975: Harry Allen was killed when struck by a car while investigating a traffic accident.
August 1975: Dennis Ives was killed in a motorcycle accident.
May 1975: Bernard L. Carter was killed in a helicopter crash.
November 1953: Richard Burchfield was shot and killed while questioning a suspect.
September 1918: John W. Rowan was shot and killed in a clash with a gang of bandits working in the Denver and Colorado Springs areas.
June 1896: Benjamin F. Bish was shot to death.
Compiled by the Denver Post Research Library
