Colo. Police Officer Stabbed Multiple Times in Head During Mental Health Call
What to know
- An Aurora police officer was stabbed multiple times in the head Thursday by a man armed with a butcher knife during a mental health call at an apartment complex.
- The 23‑year‑old suspect charged from the apartment and attacked the officer after refusing to cooperate with crisis responders, prompting the officer to fatally shoot him during the assault.
- The injured officer, a veteran K-9 handler with the department, was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery.
The man refused to continue talking with the crisis response team after about 25 minutes. When the clinician tried to talk to him through a window, the man was seen holding a large butcher knife to his neck.
A group of officers was staged nearby when the man suddenly burst out of the apartment, charged one of the officers and repeatedly stabbed him in the head with the butcher knife, Chamberlain said.
The stabbing was so forceful that the tip of the knife broke off inside the officer’s head, Chamberlain said, but the officer was able to fire his gun and shoot the man during the attack.
Other officers on scene tried to use less-lethal force, including a Taser, to stop the man as the stabbing unfolded in a matter of seconds, the chief said.
Paramedics took the officer to a hospital, where he was in surgery Thursday evening. The knife-wielding man was taken to a hospital by ambulance and pronounced dead.
The man killed will be identified by the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office.
The injured officer joined the Aurora Police Department in 2002, according to a news release from the department. He is also a canine handler and has been assigned to the department’s police dog unit since 2012. His dog sustained minor injuries in the Thursday incident but is expected to recover.
“I thank God that our officer is not dead,” Chamberlain said. “I thank God that our officer is in surgery, and I’m so thankful that he survived this.”
The man had a history of mental health issues, including suicidal ideation, and it appears police had responded to that address at least one time before Thursday, Chamberlain said.
“ The Aurora Police Department, our patrol assets, our clinicians and our crisis response team did everything we could possibly do to resolve this without the incredibly tragic conclusion,” Chamberlain said.
The 18th Judicial Critical Incident Response Team is leading the investigation into the police shooting. The Aurora Police Department will also conduct an administrative review of the incident.
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