A Denver police officer believed he was fighting for his life this afternoon when he drew his weapon and shot an attacking suspect in an alley behind a condominium building at 12th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, a police spokesman said.
The officer suffered head wounds that were not life-threatening but serious enough to send him to the hospital.
The unidentified suspect suffered one gunshot wound to his lower torso and also was rushed to Denver Health Medical Center, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said.
The altercation happened just before 5 p.m., when the unidentified patrolman was following up on a report of a suspicious vehicle parked in the alley behind the 1200 block of Colorado Boulevard.
During his contact with the suspect, the officer was attacked. He was being beaten in the back of the head when he drew his sidearm and fired, Jackson said.
The suspect was not armed but seemed more intent on hurting the officer than getting away, Jackson said.
“If an officer is in a fistfight and feels his life is in danger, he can fire his weapon,” Jackson said.
After being shot, the suspect then tried to flee on foot but was apprehended in the nearby parking lot of the condominiums, Jackson said.
The incident prompted authorities to shut down two lanes of southbound Colorado for more than an hour during rush hour.
The condo building is known among police officers in the district for rampant drug trafficking, Jackson said. And drugs were found at the scene that police investigators believe belonged to the suspect, he said.
Juanita Smith, 44, who says she has lived in the building for five years, says police officers often harass residents of the complex and that on several occasions she’s been searched while doing laundry in the building’s basement.
“They think that everyone who lives here is a crack dealer, but that’s just not the case,” said Smith, who says she has filed complaints about the harrassment in the past.
Jackson had no information about harassment complaints involving the building.
“Officers who work in this district say there has been a lot of drug trafficking going on here,” Jackson said.
Another resident of the building, who declined to give his name, said that he has seen drug trafficking in the area but that police have effectively cracked down on it in past months. He says he feels safer now because of the extra attention officers have been paying to the area.
Manny Gonzales: 303-954-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com
