Officer released from hospital after pursuit, crash and fatal shooting

A large number of officers from the Denver and Aurora police departments responded Saturday morning to an intersection next to the rental car lots near Denver International Airport on a deadly shooting.

A suspect was killed and an officer injured after a police chase that ended in a shootout, according to the Aurora Police Department. The officer was released from the hospital Sunday.

Another suspect was detained but released Sunday.

The injured officer was hurt as a result of the crash, Denver PD Division Chief Ron Thomas said in an interview. The officer suffered minor injuries while performing a PIT (pursuit intervention technique, essentially pushing sideways the back end of a suspect vehicle to cause a spinout) maneuver. 

"We want to end (high-speed pursuits) as fast as we can - when it's safe to do so," Thomas explained. In this case, "it was very early in the morning, there was little traffic, and they were approaching a gated, secure parking lot."  

There were eight Aurora PD officers involved in the pursuit and at the scene when shots were fired, according to Thomas. 

The suspect was armed with a rifle and "threatened" officers with it, he said. Detectives are investigating whether the suspect fired any shots at the officers.

The other suspect ran from the crash scene but was apprehended.

APD officers began pursuing the suspects' small black SUV at about 5 a.m., three hours after the vehicle was connected to a robbery of a 7-Elevan store at Colfax Avenue and Sable Boulevard, Thomas explained. 

The incident ended in Denver PD's jurisdiction, and DPD will be the investigating agency. 

Two employees of the Pikes Peak parking lot are being interviewed as witnesses, Thomas added.

The three officers who fired their weapons in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, as is standard practice after police shootings.