'A tragedy': Arvada Police Officer Dillon Vakoff remembered by community
Arvada police have identified the suspect in the killing of police officer Dillon Vakoff over the weekend. Detectives say Sonny Thomas Almanza fired the shot that killed Vakoff, when he and another officer responded to a domestic disturbance in the 6700 block of west 51st Avenue around 2 a.m. Sunday.
Flowers on a cruiser outside the Arvada Police Department mark the loss of officer Dillon Vakoff, 27. All day Monday, a steady stream of people from across the Front Range stopped by to pay their respects to the fallen officer.
"I felt really bad 'cause he's so young," says Arvada resident Linda Reffel.
"It's so tragic that a life like that was just ended so young," says Littleton resident Felicia O'Connell.
Vakoff was killed in the line of duty Sunday morning when responding to a domestic disturbance. After being called to check on two children on West 51st Avenue, Vakoff and another officer found a large family disturbance in the street. As they tried to de-escalate the situation, one of the men involved began shooting, striking a woman. Police returned gunfire, and the suspect was shot, but not before firing the shot that would kill Vakoff.
"It didn't really have to happen," says Joe Duran, who travels to the memorials of fallen first responders across the state.
"It's a tragedy and it's senseless and very preventable," says Reffel.
Police have identified that suspect as Sonny Thomas Almanza. Almanza, 31, was arrested on multiple charges, including first-degree murder of a peace officer. Court records show Almanza has a criminal history, including pleading guilty to assault with a deadly weapon in 2008.
"I believe in the maximum penalty," says Duran.
The loss of Vakoff comes 15 months after another Arvada police officer was killed in the line of duty. Officer Gordon Beesley died in an ambush in Olde Town Arvada last June.
"It's been a little over a year but even at that, it's senseless," says Duran.
Now the community is once again mourning a lost officer and seeking justice.
"Hug your loved ones," says O'Connell.
Both Almanza and the woman who was shot are injured but expected to survive. As of Monday afternoon, Arvada police say Almanza is currently in custody at a local hospital and upon release will be transported to the Jefferson County Jail. Vakoff's family issued a statement Monday through the police, requesting privacy at this time.
