PUEBLO – “The siren going and he never turned it off. That was strange,” said one Pueblo West resident who heard police passing his home Sunday night. Monday morning he’s wondering why they are still around and the roads to his house are closed and blocked. The activity is because of a chase and officer-involved shooting.
A driver fled from law enforcement multiple times Sunday night. Reports show the last pursuit ended with a Pueblo County Deputy firing at the suspect car. The driver went to the hospital with critical injuries and a passenger died at the scene. There are multiple crime scenes across two counties.
A Pueblo Sheriff’s Deputy who fired the shots is on administrative leave while the incident is investigated. Pueblo County Sheriff, Kirk Taylor says his deputies got involved after reports coming out of Canon City and Fremont County. His deputies were on the lookout for a driver who had dangerously fled from law enforcement. “Crashing into a Fremont County Sheriff’s Deputy vehicle, as well as a near miss with a Canon City Police officer’s vehicle,” said Taylor.
The suspect car was spotted in Pueblo West and Taylor says the driver again would not stop for deputies.
The deputies attempted to get the driver to stop without success. They used a tactical, vehicle to vehicle contact maneuver, to force a stop. “Pushed the vehicle, spun it around, they started to get out to contact the driver. The driver immediately took off,” said Taylor. On a second forced stop deputies got out again to approach the vehicle and this time the Sheriff says the driver started going again, this time with wheels pointed toward deputies. “Shots were fired.”
A third party now investigates to determine if the deputy was justified in using deadly force. The Pueblo Police Department is leading the investigation.
