A fire truck carrying Denver Nuggets players struck and injured a police officer amid a celebratory parade for the team’s first NBA championship on Thursday, about an hour before two people were injured during a shooting just blocks away.
The fire truck was carrying Nuggets players Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, as well as the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. They were moved to another truck to take them the last few blocks of the parade route. Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas identified the injured officer during a news conference as Justin Dodge, a sergeant assigned to the SWAT division and someone whom he called a “very decorated officer.” Thomas told reporters the officer was trying to protect event-goers who made their way in front of the fire truck, and “had to step kind of closer to the vehicle and the fire truck began to roll up the back of his left leg, trapping him underneath the vehicle.” The officer was rescued from underneath the truck and was taken to a hospital with a lower leg injury. He was undergoing surgery and remains in serious, but stable condition.
In a separate incident that occurred an hour after the police officer’s injury, authorities say that two people were shot at the end of the parade and rally. The shooting occurred after the parade and festivities at Curtis Street and 17th Street, the Denver Police Department said. Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas told reporters during a news conference that gunman shot two males in a targeted incident. Investigators believe the shooting was not related to the event. Authorities have an image of a suspect, who remains unidentified and was not in police custody, officials said.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said of the shooting: “Shame on them for once again marring what had been otherwise a pretty successful event for the entire state of Colorado,” adding that upwards of one million people attended Thursday’s parade and rally.
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