Update Nov. 11, 2023: No charges will be filed against the Denver police officer who shot and injured a 17-year-old suspect who shot at him during a foot pursuit, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
In a statement Wednesday, District Attorney Beth McCann said Officer Andrew Niccum justifiably feared for his life and acted in self-defense, so the shooting was justified.
The suspect shot at Niccum twice, and one bullet hit his duty belt, causing a magazine of bullets to come loose. The department initially reported Niccum was struck in the chest. Niccum fired his gun eight times, two of which hit the teenage suspect.
A Denver police officer and a suspect both were shot and wounded during an exchange of gunfire Wednesday evening, following the shooting of another officer — who returned fire and killed the man police say attacked him — earlier in the day.
The second shooting occurred in northeast Denver in the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Forest Street, according to a police spokesman.
At about 7:28 p.m., a ShotSpotter alert for a suspected shots-fired incident was dispatched for the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Cherry Street, said Denver police Division Chief Rick Kyle at a Wednesday night news conference.
Two police officers responded to the scene about two minutes later. A person matching a suspect description was found at 7:33 p.m. and fled on a scooter, Kyle said, while police pursued in their patrol vehicle. The pursuit later became a foot chase, ending at MLK Boulevard and Forest Street.
A confrontation occurred between the suspect and one of the officers, and gunfire was exchanged, Kyle said. The officer was shot in the chest, and his ballistic armor absorbed the shot. Both the suspect and officer were transported to a hospital, where the officer was in good condition and the suspect in critical condition.
On Thursday, a police spokesman said the suspect was hospitalized in critical condition. The police officer was treated and released.
The police department’s homicide division, the Colorado Bureau of Investigations and Colorado State Patrol are leading an investigation into the shooting, including a determination of who fired the first shot. The Denver District Attorney’s Office will decide on charges, Kyle said.
Earlier, at about 4 a.m. Wednesday, a man was killed and a veteran Denver police officer suffered multiple gunshot wounds in an attack on the officer outside a hotel in northwest Denver, police said. In the morning incident, the officer was taken to Denver Health Medical Center emergency room for treatment of his wounds. He was released from the hospital later in the day and is resting at home, police said.
The man, identified by police officials in a posting on Twitter as a “suspect,” also was taken to the Denver Health emergency room, where he died.
In both incidents, Kyle credited ballistic armor for protecting the officers. Police are not required to wear the armor but are strongly encouraged to do so, he said.
“We are very, very fortunate. We could have lost two of our officers today.”
This story was updated at 9:59 a.m. Thursday to add information on the condition of the suspect and police officer.
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