Suspect shot, killed after stabbing Aurora police officer in the head multiple times
AURORA, Colo. (KRDO) – A veteran police officer in Aurora was seriously injured after a man who authorities say was experiencing a mental health crisis attacked him with a butcher knife, stabbing him multiple times in the head.
The officer shot and killed the 23-year-old suspect during the attack, the Aurora Police Department (APD) confirmed.
According to the department, at around 3:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, Aurora police were called to an apartment complex off of East Stanford Circle, near Cherry Creek Reservoir, for a report of a man experiencing a mental health crisis.
According to Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain, the initial report suggested that the man was threatening to harm himself and others in the home.
Officers and members of the department’s Crisis Response Team (CRT) arrived at 3:37 p.m. and tried to make contact with the man over the phone, but those attempts were unsuccessful until they were eventually able to get in contact with his mother, Chamberlain said. Once reached, the man warned that he had a knife and threatened to kill himself and others, including officers.
After learning of those threats, officers on scene requested additional assistance, including a K9 officer and handler, a taser and a 40mm launcher equipped with foam projectiles.
Chamberlain said shortly after, CRT members lost contact with the man over the phone. He then went to his window and repeated similar threats.
"At some point, they looked and they could see the suspect peering out of the window," Chamberlain said. "He had a large, very large butcher knife, and he was holding it to his neck, and he was continuing to make threats against himself and also kill anybody in and around the area, which included the officers."
About 16 minutes after officers initially arrived, the man burst out of his front door – still carrying the large knife – and rounded the corner.
"[Officers] saw this individual and began to make verbal contact with him, to say, 'Stop, stop,'" Chamberlain said.
The man didn't stop, continuing to charge at the officers before repeatedly stabbing the K9 officer in the head, authorities say.
"The suspect had the knife in an upward position, and he began to thrash and stab the knife into the head of the K9 officer," Chamberlain said. "The stabbing was so aggressive, and it was so forceful, that a portion of that knife actually broke off in the head of our canine officer."
During the attack, officers on scene deployed their tasers and the 40mm launcher, but the less-lethal force didn't stop the suspect, the department said. Simultaneously, the officer who was stabbed fired multiple shots, hitting the man. Both of them then collapsed to the ground.
The department said officers and personnel with Aurora Fire Rescue immediately began providing life-saving actions to both the injured officer and the suspect. Both were rushed to the hospital, where the suspect later died from his injuries.
The injured officer underwent surgery Thursday night and is expected to survive. The K9 who sustained minor injuries is also expected to recover.
"I do want to say right now that I thank God, and I'm serious about that, that our officer is not dead," Chamberlain said. "I thank God that our officer is in surgery, and I am so thankful that he survived this."
According to the Aurora Police Department, the injured officer, who has not yet been publicly identified, joined the force in 2002 and was assigned to the K9 Unit in 2012.
The 18th Judicial Critical Incident Response Team responded to the scene and is now leading the investigation into the shooting, while the Aurora Police Department conducts a parallel administrative review.
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