Feb. 3, 2023 A police officer was seriously injured after falling from a bridge during a pursuit Thursday night, according to Fountain police.
By Annika Schmidt Source The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.) (TNS) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
FOUNTAIN, Colorado — A police officer was seriously injured after falling from a bridge during a pursuit Thursday night, according to Fountain police.
In a news conference recorded by local TV stations, Fountain Police Department spokeswoman Lisa Schneider told TV news reporters that that law enforcement agencies were involved in a vehicle pursuit of someone suspected of committing multiple felony crimes around 7:45 p.m.
Schneider said Colorado State Patrol disabled the vehicle with a “tire deflating device” and the pursuit ended near South Academy and Hartford Street, which is east of Interstate 25.
Schneider said a suspect exited the stolen vehicle, and was trying to evade a Fountain police officer who was also on foot; while attempting to apprehend the suspect, a Fountain officer fell 30 feet into from the South Academy bridge into the creek bed. South Academy spans over the Fountain creek near U.S. Highway 85-87.
A video of the incident circulating on social media shows police cruisers pursuing a vehicle on what appears to be the northbound lanes of South Academy Boulevard. The video then shows the suspect vehicle spin out and crash into a guardrail. Several cruisers following behind crash into the vehicle, and multiple officers exit their cruisers. A person in a hoodie can be seen in the video exiting the suspect vehicle, and appears to climb on top of the car before jumping off in an apparent attempt to flee officers. As the suspect jumps from the vehicle, one officer can be seen falling over the guardrail.
Schneider said the officer was taken by a Flight for Life helicopter to a local hospital in “critical condition”. As of 12:30 a.m., the officer was in “stable condition” according to a news release from Fountain police.
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