A Denver man surrendered peaceably at a home in southwest Denver on Thursday night, 13 hours after allegedly running down a sheriff’s deputy with his car in the 1200 block of South Knox Court.
Denver sheriff’s deputies had gone to the Knox Court address about 7:30 a.m. to arrest 25-year-old Brendon Cook when he jumped out a window, got in a car and hit Deputy Don Travis as he raced off, officials said.
Deputy Eric Gibens fired a shot that hit the driver’s side window of the BMW but apparently did not hit the driver, the Sheriff Department said.
Neighbor Jason Hernandez said he saw Cook get in his car, gun the engine and hit the deputy, throwing the officer into Hernandez’s front yard.
The car was ditched a few blocks away in a neighborhood near Garfield State Park, and a witness saw the driver run away.
Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said Cook was booked into the Denver County Jail after his arrest about 8:30 p.m. Cook is facing multiple charges, including aggravated assault on a peace officer.
Travis, a 14-year veteran, was taken to a hospital with injuries that were characterized as not life-threatening. He was released Thursday afternoon.
Records show Cook has a long criminal record, including multiple arrests on counts of marijuana possession, driving under the influence, possession of dangerous drugs and failure to appear.
Travis, a 14-year law enforcement veteran, and Gibens, a 16-year veteran, have been on the Sheriff Department’s “warrant-fugitive unit” for about three years, said Capt. Frank Gale, a spokesman for the Sheriff Department.
“These two guys do a great job,” he said. “They make hundreds of arrests each year.”
JoAnn Pacheco was getting her kids ready for school when her husband noticed Cook’s abandoned car blocking the family’s driveway in the 3900 block of West Mosier Place.
A neighbor yelled that the car was connected to the assault on the deputy a few blocks away.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
