Colorado State Patrol trooper, "targeted" and shot, kills suspect in Westminster highway shootout
A Colorado State Patrol trooper was shot and injured Saturday and a suspect was killed after a driver fired multiple rounds at him. Police officials say the trooper was "targeted."
The shooting happened just after 1 p.m. in Westminster on U.S. 36 near Federal Boulevard when the trooper was doing paperwork in the center median and a driver fired multiple shots out of an unknown vehicle.
The trooper was taken to the hospital and has since been released, CSP officials say.
The suspect was not immediately identified, but the trooper, identified as Cpl. Tye Simcox, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Multiple troopers, Adams County deputies and Westminster police officers were seen at the scene of the shooting. What appeared to be a body covered in a tarp was also seen next to a Chevrolet pickup truck.
In a news conference Saturday evening, Col. Matthew Packard, chief of CSP, said Simcox was pulled over in between two concrete barriers in his marked CSP vehicle doing paperwork.
A black Chevrolet pickup truck traveling east fired multiple rounds from a handgun into the patrol car. The suspect pulled over, got out and continued firing at Simcox, who got out of his car and returned fire on the side of the highway.
After shooting and killing the suspect with his department-issued rifle, Simcox returned to his own vehicle, called for backup and applied a tourniquet to his arm, where he was shot.
Simcox has since been released from Denver Health Medical Center.
"I will tell you very directly that our member was targeted today by a man who intended to kill him and that is shocking and unacceptable," Packard said.
"Our Colorado State trooper responded appropriately and swiftly and courageously and he won today. And by winning, not only did he save his own life, but he saved the rest of this community from someone that clearly was intending to do evil," Packard continued. "I want it to be known that we came out on top today and that's really important because that's what good does; good and courageous people win over evil cowardice."
Simcox, a 16-year veteran of CSP, is "on his way home today because of his training and heroism," Packard said. "I could not be more proud of Cpr. Simcox and his fellow troopers that responded in the moments after. His fellow trooper is actually a trooper that he trained."
That trooper who arrived on the scene and helped Simcox after the shooting then took Simcox to the hospital in his own patrol car, Packard said: "Pretty amazing stuff."
"I don't use the term 'heroically' lightly, but that's exactly what he did today," Packard said of Simcox, before noting targeting of law enforcement appears to be on the rise and that he can recall another incident where he believes a CSP trooper was targeted while not engaged in a traffic stop or other enforcement action.
A 2020 study by criminologists Justin Nix from the University of Nebraska and Michael Sierra-Arévalo from the University of Texas found that 1,467 local and state law enforcement officers were shot in the U.S. between 2014 and 2019, amounting to an average of 242 deputies, officers and troopers shot per year. The Fraternal Order of Police said 378 law enforcement officers nationwide were shot in the line of duty in 2023.
"The fact that an officer -- or a trooper in this case -- literally just doing his job could be ambushed out of nowhere and then engage in gunfire heroically is stunning," 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason said at a news conference. "It is rare for me to speak publicly when an investigation is still ongoing but I'm speaking to you today because there's more to this story than what we currently know."
Years ago, Simcox was recognized by the Citizens Appreciate State Troopers award after witnessing a serious crash near his home, recruiting several bystanders to help lift a car off a victim and pursuing the driver when they tried to flee, according to a 2015 CSP report. Simcox was credited with saving the victim's life and securing a prison sentence for the driver due to his testimony.
"Colorado thanks Cpl. Tye Simcox for his courageous and brave actions to protect himself and our community," Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement on Sunday. "I spoke with Cpl. Simcox yesterday after this alarming incident, we wish him a speedy recovery and thank Tye for his service to our state."
