Cooper, 28, and his girlfriend were arrested last Thursday and charged with criminal mischief as a crime of domestic violence after Parker police officers responded to reports of a “domestic incident” between the two late that night. The charge has different severities based on the amount of damage caused, resulting in a misdemeanor-level charge for Cooper and a petty-level offense for his girlfriend.

The football player’s case is scheduled to go before a jury in late July, according to Douglas County court records. During Monday’s disposition hearing, Cooper pleaded not guilty to the criminal mischief charge, and a motions hearing was scheduled for July 6. The jury trial is expected to begin on July 22.

Harvey Steinberg, Cooper’s attorney, said the defense team doesn’t intend to file any motion to dismiss and wants the case to be heard by a jury. Steinberg pushed for a trial “as early as possible” during Monday’s hearing to avoid affecting Cooper’s employment as a football player.

The 2026 NFL season officially starts in September, but the Broncos will play preseason games as early as Aug. 14 and training camp begins the last week of July.

Cooper has become an important pass-rusher on the Broncos’ defense across a five-year tenure in Denver, originally drafted in the seventh round in the 2021 NFL Draft. In November 2024, he signed a four-year contract extension worth $33 million in guaranteed money and up to $60 million in total value.

“He’s consistent,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said of Cooper in August 2025. “He’s the same guy every single day. He’s the fire starter for our defense. He’s physical. He’s a better rusher than people think he is. He’s a really good football player, and that����ap the kind of guys we have on our team.”

After recording a career-best 10.5 sacks in 2024 and another 8.0 sacks in 2025, Cooper stands to make a total of $12 million in total cash payout this season in Denver. The Broncos typically begin training camp in late July, meaning Cooper’s trial could take place just before the team reports back to the facility for the start of the 2026 season.

Cooper was arrested in Parker shortly after 11:15 p.m. Thursday and booked into the Douglas County jail roughly three hours later, according to inmate records. His girlfriend, whom The Denver Post is not currently identifying, was also arrested.

The girlfriend told police that she had confronted Cooper about cheating allegations, which led to a fight over his phone, according to the pair’s arrest affidavits.

Neither party was charged with harassment or assault because there was “no probable cause … given the conflicting statements and lack of specific physical evidence,” Parker police wrote in Cooper’s affidavit.

Cooper’s girlfriend took his phone from him, threw it across the room and then went to pick it up and look through it, according to both affidavits. That����ap where their stories split.

Cooper, wanting his phone back, told police that he grabbed his girlfriend by her upper arm and took it, according to his affidavit. He also told police that he “braced his neck against her neck” to prevent her from getting it and admitted to threatening to break his girlfriend’s phone if she didn’t leave his apartment.

But his girlfriend told a separate officer that the football player had “grabbed her by the neck” and held her up against the wall, according to the affidavit for her arrest. Cooper’s girlfriend also said he picked her up and threw her back on the ground several times and punched the wall “next to her face.”

When she didn’t leave, Cooper bit her phone, damaging it, according to both arrest affidavits.

Officers noted in the affidavit that the girlfriend’s injuries didn’t quite match her claims, observing a small mark on her neck, scratches on her arm and a small cut on her hand. Those injuries “did not appear consistent with a larger male lifting (her) up into the air by her throat as well as repeatedly being thrown to the ground,” police said.

As of Monday morning, the girlfriend was next scheduled to appear in court for a pre-trial conference on June 16.

The crash happened near South Chambers Road and East Mainstreet at 1:14 p.m. Wednesday, according to South Metro Fire Rescue. By 2:45 p.m., the , although officials noted that “a lingering gas smell may be present in the area.”

between Mainstreet and Cosmopolitan Circle for the crash investigation, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office originally issued the order for a half-mile radius from 10759 Tomboy Drive, including parts of Newlin Crossing, Sierra Ridge and Meridian Village neighborhoods. Pine Grove Elementary School was also ordered to shelter in place and had a controlled release of students, .

Residents near the leak were asked to stay inside with their windows closed, turn off their heating and cooling systems and avoid any activity that could cause a spark, South Metro officials said.

Paramedics took two people to hospitals for evaluation, . It’s not clear if they were involved in the crash or were nearby residents.

Information on the cause of the crash was not immediately available, but photos shared by South Metro officials showed a red pick-up truck had gone off the right side of northbound Chambers and

Robert Dial, 62, won $22 million in economic damages and another $2 million for pain and suffering after he sued former Detective Shannon Brukbacher over his 2022 arrest on felony charges of tampering with evidence, his attorneys David Maxted and Kathryn Stimson said Tuesday.

The criminal charges were dismissed five months after Dial’s arrest, but not before he lost his job and reputation, the attorneys said. They sued Brukbacher in 2024 and the jury delivered a verdict late Monday after a five-day trial in Douglas County District Court.

“This is vindication for him,” Maxted said of Dial. “This basically completely clears him and indicates she maliciously prosecuted him and is liable for what happened.”

Brukbacher’s attorneys did not return requests for comment Tuesday.  A spokesman for the Parker Police Department did not return a request for comment. Andy Anderson, communications manager for the town, said in a statement that the town is reviewing the case and considering whether to appeal.

“While the Town is disappointed with the verdict, we respect the judicial process,” Anderson said in the statement. “However, we believe the evidence presented in the case warranted a different outcome.”

Jurors considered Dial’s lost earnings as an investment manager to reach the $24 million mark, Maxted noted.

“The Town of Parker had a city attorney there throughout the trial,” he said. “So they have known this is a big problem and there has just been a refusal to take accountability. So we had to have a jury trial. And a jury did what juries do: They found her accountable.”

The case began on Feb. 15, 2022, when Dial’s son, Cameron Dial, got into a confrontation with his roommates at the Stone Canyon apartments on Cottonwood Drive. Cameron Dial shot both roommates, killing one man and wounding a woman.

Cameron Dial lives with a “significant learning disability,” and often relies on Robert Dial for help with daily living, according to the lawsuit. He called his father in a panic and confessed to the shooting immediately after the attack. Robert Dial was in New Jersey at the time, but told his son to call for help. Robert Dial also said he’d hire an attorney for his son and went on to do so.

Robert Dial spoke with Brukbacher later that day and told the detective he’d hired an attorney. Dial’s son declined to speak with police until he first spoke with his attorney. Brukbacher became irritated by the development and continued to try to get information from Robert Dial about the incident, urging him to “be an adult,” the father’s attorneys claimed in the lawsuit.

The woman who was shot later told the police detective that Robert Dial instructed his son to hide the gun after the shooting. The woman told the detective that Cameron Dial might have hidden the gun in a closet or in the laundry room, and that Cameron cut holes in the walls of the apartment to hide things in what Robert Dial’s attorneys said was a “bizarre and untrue monologue.”

The gun was not hidden when police officers arrived at the scene. They immediately found the weapon, which was in plain view in the hand of the slain man, according to the lawsuit. The woman made a number of demonstrably false statements about the attack and had a history of being unreliable to the point that Brukbacher should have known she was not a credible witness, Dial’s attorneys alleged.

Brukbacher nevertheless authored a misleading and false affidavit charging Robert Dial with two felony counts of tampering with evidence based on the woman’s claim and arrested Robert Dial, according to the complaint. In the affidavit, Brukbacher said the woman had a “very clear memory of what happened,” although the woman herself described being “super in and out of it” during the shooting.

Jurors on Monday found Brukbacher liable for a false arrest and for malicious prosecution, Maxted said. Court records reflecting the verdict were not immediately available Tuesday.

Cameron Dial, now 32, was charged with first-degree murder. He took the case to trial and the jury could not reach a verdict, Maxted said. Court records show the son later pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of reckless manslaughter and attempted reckless manslaughter.

During Cameron Dial’s jury trial, the judge paused the proceedings and excused the jury while Brukbacher was on the stand in order to admonish the detective to testify truthfully, according to the lawsuit.

Brukbacher retired from the Parker Police Department in 2024 after spending more than two decades on the job, the . She remains a certified police officer but is unemployed, according to records kept by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Board.

The 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s office has begun the process of making credibility notifications about Brukbacher in cases in which she is endorsed as a witness in the wake of the civil verdict, spokesman Tom Mustin said in a statement Tuesday.

The verdict should put all Colorado police departments on notice, Stimson said.

“All the time across the country people are arrested for crimes they didn’t commit and prosecuted,” she said. “Their lives and careers are destroyed and prosecutors and police don’t care. They should make sure that there is probable cause every time they bring a case.”

Sgt. Troy Brienzo, who resigned while under investigation in February, was indicted on two felony charges of unlawful sexual conduct and five misdemeanor charges, including one count of unlawful sexual contact and four counts of official misconduct, court records show.

The charges stem from incidents involving two unidentified victims, both adults, according to a heavily redacted grand jury indictment acquired by The Denver Post on Monday.

However, a obtained by shows both victims were enrolled in the Parker Police Department’s . The job-shadowing program for youths aged 14 to 20 allows participants to gain hands-on experience with officers who advise the program. was one of those advisers and previously .

Douglas County Combined Courts Clerk Andi Truett said her office only released one version, with redactions matching those in The Denver Post’s original copy. Blue Surveillance President Andrew Fraieli said he received his copy directly from the 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Brienzo’s attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Relationships between Explorer Program mentees and officers must be professional in nature only, according to the program’s rules of conduct.

But an unidentified girl in the Explorers Program reported Brienzo in January for violating that policy, according to the grand jury indictment.  A second victim, a girl who had aged out of the program but was involved with both it and Brienzo in previous years, was identified during the investigation, the indictment stated.

The names and ages of both victims were redacted in both copies of the indictment.

One of the girls reached out to Brienzo after an explorer training on Jan. 3, according to the indictment. Program advisers at the training had said some explorers were being “rude and ungrateful,” and she told Brienzo she wanted to ensure that she had not given that impression, the indictment stated. Brienzo offered to take her on a ride-along that evening to discuss her concerns and told her not to wear her uniform, according to the document.

Brienzo did not notify dispatchers or update his systems to indicate that he had an explorer riding along with him, both of which are standard procedure, according to the indictment.

The sergeant spent the ride-along talking about his relationship issues and sexual fantasies, the indictment alleged. He asked the explorer whether asking whether she wanted to have sex in the back of his patrol car would ruin their relationship, according to the indictment. She said it wouldn’t, but that she would turn him down because he was an adviser in a mentor position.

“How fire would it be if I were to have a rider and I could just reach my hand over and start touching them?” Brienzo then asked, according to the indictment. He told the explorer that he found her attractive when she first joined the program at 16 years old and asked whether she would give him a naked photo of herself, the indictment stated. She declined.

He asked if he could take her into a room at the Parker Police Department and search her, take off her clothing and touch her sexually, according to the indictment. She declined, but eventually agreed to an over-the-clothes search “if that was going to be enough for him.”

The explorer did not believe that Brienzo would place his hands under her clothing, but he did and groped her, the indictment alleged. He also moved her hands to his body and made her touch him sexually, according to the document.

He then drove her to an empty lot and asked to perform oral sex on her, which she refused, and said it would be “hot” if she came to his hotel room during the next explorer competition in Arizona. The explorer said this “freaked her out” as “she believed there was nothing she could do because Brienzo was a sergeant and she was not,” the indictment stated.

She reported the incident, and Brienzo was placed on administrative leave on Jan. 7. He resigned from the department while under investigation on Feb. 13.

As of Wednesday, Brienzo remained listed as a point of contact for questions .

“I’m (expletive), I’m losing my job,” Brienzo said in a phone call to a fellow Parker officer and friend after being placed on leave. He claimed all contact between him and the explorer was consensual and part of a normal weapons pat-down.

A second victim identified during the investigation said she and Brienzo had sex in the back of his patrol vehicle during a ride-along while parked outside of Legend High School. Their sexual relationship ended when she left the program, according to the indictment.

“Sexual misconduct is any sexual activity while on-duty or stemming from official duty,” the indictment stated. “Sexual misconduct of any nature while on duty is prohibited.”

Brienzo is next scheduled to appear in court on April 13 for an arraignment hearing, according to Douglas County court records. He posted bail on April 4.

Sgt. Troy Brienzo faces two felony charges of unlawful sexual conduct, one misdemeanor charge of unlawful sexual contact and four misdemeanor charges of official misconduct, court records show. The charges stem from incidents involving two unidentified victims, both adults, .

Brienzo, 31, was taken into custody on the charges on Friday, Parker police officials said.

“Due to the pending grand jury investigation, we were not at liberty to release a more detailed statement earlier,” officials stated in the release. “We recognize the seriousness of these charges and remain committed to transparency, accountability and maintaining the trust of the Parker community. As this is now an active criminal case, no further details will be released at this time.”

An arrest affidavit obtained by The Denver Post on Monday lays out some of the actions Brienzo allegedly took. A witness in the investigation reported that Brienzo said he was having “inappropriate thoughts” and “hooking up with certain individuals at the police department.”

An unidentified victim told investigators that Brienzo had them in his car on a ride-along, during which Brienzo told them that his relationship with his girlfriend was in trouble. Brienzo told the alleged victim he had a fantasy of having sex with someone in the back of his patrol car. The victim said they wouldn’t do so because Brienzo was an “advisor in a mentor position.”

The affidavit was heavily redacted and the sex of the alleged victims was not disclosed. It was also not clear from the document what professional relationship Brienzo had with his alleged victims.

The first victim said Brienzo repeatedly wanted to talk about sex and asked for a naked picture of the alleged victim, which the victim refused.

According to the affidavit, Brienzo told his ride-along partner: “How fire would it be if I were to have a rider and I could just reach my hand over and start touching them?” The affidavit describes Brienzo performing inappropriate pat-downs of the alleged victim back at the police station late that night.

The document also states that Brienzo had sex in his patrol car with another person who was on a ride-along with him.

As of Monday, Brienzo still appeared as a certified officer in the , though his profile notes he resigned while under investigation and is the subject of a criminal charge.

Brienzo will next appear in court on April 13 for an arraignment hearing, according to Douglas County records.

Parker Police Department officials on Thursday announced had resigned Feb. 13 while under investigation for an “alleged incident” that agency leaders learned about on Jan. 7. The department would not provide any other information about what Brienzo is accused of doing or which outside agency is investigating him.

But a partial screenshot of an undated letter from the 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office shared on multiple social media sites states Brienzo was placed on administrative leave for allegedly violating town and police department policies related to sexual harassment, the , prohibited activity, disciplinary action, standards of conduct and supervisory roles.

The Denver Post has confirmed the letter’s authenticity. The 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office was required to send the so-called Rule 16 letter, or Brady letter, because Colorado laws require prosecutors to disclose information about officers to defense attorneys when it could affect a criminal case.

Brienzo was an , according to a 2024 social media post by the Parker Police Department.

The program works with teenagers and young adults between 14 and 20 years old to help them “gain insight into law enforcement programs that offer hands-on career activities,” agency officials wrote on the program’s page.

Brienzo also participated in the program when he was younger, the department said in a .

The district attorney’s office declined to comment on the case, and Parker police spokesperson Josh Hans said the department was “unable to share any additional information at this time” in response to questions about the allegations and the agency conducting the investigation.

Parker Police Chief Jim Tsurapas said in a statement the allegations run “counter to this department’s mission and values and tarnish the very badge we wear.”

Tsurapas added the case is being taken seriously and is under active investigation.

“It will continue through the appropriate processes to ensure transparency, accountability and to maintain the community’s trust,” he said.

Officials from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Lone Tree, Castle Rock and Aurora police departments said their agencies are not involved in the investigation.

Brienzo was featured frequently on the department’s social media, including when the CCV Rotary Club of Parker named Brienzo the officer of the year in 2025. In a Facebook post about the award, the Parker Police Department wrote that Brienzo is “a force of positivity, resilience and unwavering dedication.”

Brienzo is still certified as a police officer on Colorado’s Peace Officer Standards and Training database, though his profile notes he is not employed and resigned while under investigation.

Andrew Sanders, 40, is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, assault and obstructing a peace officer, all misdemeanors, as well as careless driving and failing to stay in one lane, both traffic infractions. He has since been fired.

Sanders was arrested Feb. 7 after a Parker Police Department sergeant saw his truck weaving between lanes on southbound Jordan Road, north of Mainstreet, at around 7:52 p.m.

After the sergeant pulled him over, a Parker police officer took over the case and reported Sanders stumbled as he walked to the sidewalk and had glassy eyes and slurred, slow speech, police wrote in the report.

Sanders refused to do a roadside sobriety test and repeatedly told an officer he didn’t understand a statement about Colorado’s expressed consent laws regarding blood and breath tests.

Police obtained a warrant to get a blood sample from Sanders, who repeatedly said he didn’t consent and had to be restrained by police so HCA HealthOne South Parker ER staff could take his blood, according to the affidavit.

When an officer looked at her watch while waiting for a jail transport, Sanders told her, “Yeah, look at your watch, (expletive)” and spit at her, police wrote.

The fired Sanders on Friday. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

He was released from jail on a $1,000 bail and is set to appear in court Tuesday.

David Kats, 56, was found guilty on Dec. 16 after a six-day jury trial on 17 felony counts, including 12 charges of sexual assault, court records show.

Each of the four women testified that they blacked out after being served drinks by Kats and later realized they had been sexually assaulted, according to a news release from the DA’s office. When Parker police officers searched the man’s home, they found “numerous substances used to incapacitate victims,” prosecutors said in the release.

The women discovered each other through posts in a “Are We Dating the Same Guy?” Facebook group, compared their experiences with Kats and reported him to the Parker Police Department, according to the news release.

Kats denied the date rape accusations during the trial and claimed the sexual encounters were consensual, but text messages from the victims showed them confronting him and expressing concern they had been drugged, according to the DA’s office.

“The bravery these women demonstrated by taking the stand and facing this predator cannot be overstated,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Danielle Jaramillo said in a statement. “Because of their courage, David Kats will finally be held accountable for the harm he caused.”

Kats will be sentenced on April 23, according to court records.

A gas station employee was shot and killed by Parker police on Monday night after brandishing a gun at officers who were responding to calls about shots fired, officials said.

Officers responded to the area of Jordan Road and Mainstreet at around 10:20 p.m. after residents called 911 about hearing gunshots, the Parker Police Department said in a news release Tuesday.

Officers found shell casings and live ammunition in the parking lot of the T Square gas station at 17050 E. Mainstreet and spoke with the gas station employee, who initially said he witnessed the shooting.

“…the employee became very agitated with officers, was acting erratically and lifted his sweatshirt multiple times, brandishing a gun tucked inside his waistband,” agency officials wrote in a 2 p.m. news release.

Police tried to convince the man to surrender, but he grabbed the gun from his waistband and pointed it at officers, who shot him.

Officers started medical aid, but the 32-year-old man died at the hospital. No officers were injured, and six officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave.

The 23rd Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the shooting.

Parker police responded to the shooting at Twenty Mile Road and Longs Way, near Railbender Skate & Tennis Park, just after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

When officers arrived, they found a gray sedan stopped on northbound Twenty Mile, with a man slumped on the ground outside the open door, police wrote in court documents.

The victim, identified as 25-year-old Carl John Cooper, was dead, police said.

Matthew Littlefield, 27, was arrested roughly 2 1/2 hours after the shooting on suspicion of second-degree murder, according to court records.

A witness who was at the intersection when the shooting happened, waiting to turn, told investigators that two vehicles stopped next to each other on northbound Twenty Mile. An SUV stopped in the left turn lane for the Railbender parking lot, next to Cooper’s sedan in a through lane.

She heard shouting but couldn’t make out what was being said, according to Littlefield’s arrest affidavit.

Cooper exited his car and was reaching into the other vehicle when the witness heard at least three shots in quick succession, she told investigators in the affidavit. The SUV then made a U-turn onto southbound Twenty Mile and fled the scene as Cooper collapsed to the ground.

Another witness told police that Cooper appeared to be “beating on” the SUV driver, believed to be Littlefield, before the shooting, according to the arrest affidavit.

Police traced the suspect vehicle to two Elizabeth residents, the parents of Littlefield. Shortly after, a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy stopped Littlefield near Parker Road and Founders Parkway in Franktown, police said.

Littlefield told the deputy he had a gun in the car, police said. He was taken to the Parker Police Department for questioning.

The man told investigators that he and the gray sedan had collided on Mainstreet, and he made an illegal U-turn to follow the driver. When the pair stopped on Twenty Mile, they each rolled down their windows.

Littlefield said he was trying to tell Cooper he wanted to exchange insurance information, but said Cooper exited his vehicle and began repeatedly hitting Littlefield in the face. Littlefield then reached into what he described as a “go bag” to grab his handgun.

When Cooper kept punching him, Littlefield said he felt like “the only option he had was to ‘put round(s) in him,” according to the arrest affidavit. Littlefield told investigators the first rounds didn’t seem to have an impact, so he kept firing. He later admitted it was “overkill.”

Littlefield left the scene and hid the bullet casings in a friend’s trash, who later surrendered the evidence to Parker police officers. He estimated he fired eight or nine shots at Cooper. It����ap unclear how many times Cooper was struck.

Littlefield also told investigators he previously spent two years on probation for pointing a handgun at two men during a separate Parker road rage incident in 2022.

He is being held on a $250,000 cash or surety bail, which had not yet been posted as of Thursday afternoon, and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday for a hearing on charges, according to Douglas County court records.