Aurora police say the death of an officer who was responding to a medical emergency was a tragedy, not a criminal act.
Officer Douglas Byrne, 37, was pronounced dead at 2:10 this morning at Swedish Medical Center, after crashing his patrol car en route to a medical emergency.
Initial reports, that a driver who contributed to the accident then left the scene were untrue, according to Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates.
In fact, a driver in the car in front of Byrne drove to a nearby business and alerted police about the accident.
“There was no criminal involvement,” said Oates at a press conference this afternoon. “This is a tragic accident.”
Byrne was responding with emergency lights to a man dying of a seizure when a car stopped directly in front of him at Sixth Avenue and Norfolk Street around 8 p.m., Sunday.
Byrne’s cruiser spun around 180 degrees, then rolled, police said. Byrne was ejected and suffered massive head and chest injuries.
Oates said he did not know if Byrne was wearing a seat belt, but that it was common practice for officers, who wear bulky gun belts, to unbuckle themselves as they approach an emergency scene so they can get out of the vehicle quickly.
Byrne grew up in Aurora and attended Gateway High School. He served in the Persian Gulf War before joining the Glendale Police Department in 1998. There he won a medal of valor for rescuing tenants in a devastating fire at the Spanish Gate apartment complex in 2003.
He joined the Aurora Police Department about three years ago.
“He was a true hero, absolutely dedicated to this community,” Oates said.
Byrne is the second Aurora police officer to die in the line of duty in the past year.
Last September, Aurora Police Det. Mike Thomas, 52, was sitting at an intersection in his own car and wearing civilian clothes when a man walked up to the car and shot him dead. Brian Washington, 27, has been charged with first-degree murder.
Thomas’ daughter, Nicole was at this afternoon’s press conference. She left flowers beside the picture of Doug Byrne.
A private memorial service has been planned for tonight for Aurora officers. Details of a public memorial have not yet been finalized.
