At approximately 10:20 a.m., Empire Police requested assistance to conduct a high-risk arrest on a suspect with a felony warrant issued out of Oklahoma for Illegal Possession of a Firearm. When deputies arrived, an adult female suspect was the sole occupant of a vehicle parked in an empty parking lot at Empire Junction (near the intersection of Highway 40 and the westbound off ramp from I-70).
Instead, she fled in the vehicle, traveling westbound on Junction Loop Rd, then crossing the bridge south to Alvarado Road. She turned east on CO 306 and continued eastbound toward its intersection with CO 308. Just before the intersection, CO 306 curves sharply to the left. The suspect failed to manipulate the curve and the suspect vehicle continued traveling east, off the roadway a short distance, before crashing into brush and trees just south of Clear Creek.
The suspect was armed with a firearm and continued to ignore commands to exit the vehicle. While the suspect remained in the vehicle, law enforcement used less lethal options to try to gain compliance with commands to exit the vehicle. When the suspect did exit the vehicle, she refused to drop the firearm and pointed it in the direction of officers/deputies. Still brandishing the firearm, the suspect walked onto the bridge over Clear Creek. Law enforcement continued to utilize less lethal techniques to try to gain compliance to drop the weapon. These techniques were unsuccessful. The suspect then raised the firearm again and pointed it directly at deputies. Three deputies fired shots at that time.
The suspect was transported with life-threatening injuries to a metro-area hospital. She was pronounced deceased just after noon today. The Coroner’s Office will conduct an autopsy and release the suspect’s name after appropriate notifications have been completed. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is investigating the officer-involved shooting incident. The three deputies involved have been placed on paid administrative leave per department policy.
This information is preliminary and may change as the investigation evolves.
