An 18-year-old man is accused of stealing a car owned by injured Denver police Officer John Adsit and trying to sell his badge online.
Police say Emmanuel Gutierrez was arrested Jan. 6.
Adsit was injured critically last month during a student protest near Denver East High School.
According to Denver police, Gutierrez on Dec. 19 allegedly took the keys to Adsit’s car from a room at a hotel on Speer Boulevard near Denver Health medical center, where Adsit was being treated. Gutierrez worked at the hotel as a maintenance man. Police say he took the vehicle from the hotel parking lot and drove it to the 700 block of Fox Street.
Gutierrez allegedly rummaged through the car, taking a number of items. The abandoned car was recovered Dec. 21.
On Jan. 5, police said, Gutierrez posted a photograph of the stolen property on social media, saying it was for sale.
According to a spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney’s office, Adsit’s police badge was among the items Gutierrez tried to sell. The badge was recovered by police.
Wanted for a number of outstanding warrants, Gutierrez was arrested the next day. According to police, Gutierrez waived his rights and admitted to the theft.
The car theft occurred on the night before held for Adsit at Sunken Gardens Park, near Elati Street.
Adsit, a nine-year veteran of the force, Dec. 3. He was one of four officers hit by a car driven by a man who authorities say was suffering from a seizure. The incident occurred as the officers, on bicycles, were escorting hundreds of Denver East students marching in solidarity with protesters in Ferguson, Mo.
Police have called the Dec. 3 incident an accident.
Adsit, who has undergone at least 11 surgeries since the incident, is still hospitalized.
