ENGLEWOOD — A Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy was injured and a suspect was shot during the investigation of a vehicle theft near the intersection of South Santa Fe Drive and Dartmouth Avenue in Englewood this afternoon.
The deputy, 52, is in serious condition at Swedish Medical Center.
The suspect, who was shot in the back by the deputy, was taken to Denver Health Medical Center, where she underwent surgery for her injuries. A second suspect was taken into custody.
Jefferson County sheriff’s spokesman Jim Shires said a team of investigators from the Jefferson County Regional Auto Theft Task Force used a GPS tracking device to locate a Ford F-250 reported stolen this morning.
Driving an unmarked vehicle, the deputy and a partner followed the truck to the intersection of Dartmouth and Santa Fe. At about 1:15 p.m., the deputy approached the driver of the truck.
“The driver sped away, dragging my deputy,” Shires said.
The driver apparently lost control of the truck and drove up onto the embankment on the northeast corner of the intersection.
“It is my understanding that one shot was fired,” Shires said. “The incident is still pretty murky to us.”
Jefferson County Division Chief Jeff Shrader said the officer was “dragged a good distance” but that he will be OK.
Shires would not name the injured officer, but said he is a 32-year law-enforcement veteran. The deputy joined Jefferson County’s investigations unit in 1998 and in July, was assigned to the auto-theft task force.
Shires said the task-force officers always work in teams. “As we learned today, it’s a dangerous profession,” he said.
A witness, John Conway, 40, was driving southbound on Santa Fe when he saw a man running down the street pointing a gun at a pickup truck, he said.
Conway dialed 911 on his cellphone.
The busy intersection was full of people in cars and trucks, Conway said.
The witness said he thought he heard a shot, but, at the time, he also thought it could have been a car backfiring.
After it was all over, a shaken Conway said he was relieved there weren’t more injuries.
“I could have got caught in the crossfire,” Conway said. “For what? An auto theft?”
The intersection was closed to all traffic this afternoon as police were looking for shell casings on the pavement. Lakewood, Englewood and Denver officers were on the scene.
The southbound lanes of Santa Fe reopened just after 3 p.m., although the northbound lanes remain closed.
A gold pickup truck is on the embankment on the northeast corner of the intersection, a makeshift wooden bench seat in the cab covered with blood-soaked white padding.
Dee Martinez, spokeswoman for Denver Health, said she could not release the suspect’s condition.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
