AURORA | Three Aurora Police Department officers are on paid administrative leave after chasing a speeding carjacking suspect through a residential neighborhood, which resulted in a fatal car crash involving a bystander.
At about 7 p.m. Sunday, a 24-year-old Aurora resident called police and said he was the victim of an armed carjacking. Several minutes later, an officer located the stolen vehicle and said the driver was speeding near the area of Dallas Street and East 25th Avenue, a residential area.
According to a statement released Tuesday, the officer activated flashing lights and sirens, but the suspect did not stop.
“Given the violent nature of the offense, a pursuit was authorized,” police spokesperson Joe Moylan said in the Tuesday statement. He later told The Sentinel that the patrol supervisor authorized the pursuit.
Police did not immediately provide the APD policy on car chases. Police did not say how fast the suspect and officers were driving at the time of the incident. Moylan said that this is a part of the investigation.
Moylan said two additional nearby officers joined the pursuit, which lasted for four blocks.
At one point during the pursuit, the suspect drove over a speed bump on Dallas Street, lost control of the vehicle and hit several parked cars.
A 24-year-old man was inside one of the parked cars, and he died from injuries sustained in the crash. The Adams County Coroner’s Office has not released his identity as of Tuesday.
The suspect, whose identity was not released because he is a minor, was also injured and transported to the hospital. He was treated, released and is now being held at the juvenile detention facility in Adams County.
The teenager faces charges of second-degree murder, aggravated robbery and vehicular eluding causing death, police said. The 17th Judicial District in Adams County is leading a criminal court investigation.
Officers found a firearm in the stolen vehicle, which Moylan said officers suspect was used in the carjacking. Confirmation of that hinges on the investigation.
The Aurora Major Crime Homicide Unit is leading the carjacking and homicide investigation. The 17th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team is conducting their own investigation into the circumstances leading to the crash, including accident reconstruction and whether officers complied with Colorado law, according to the press statement.
APD’s Internal Affairs Bureau, which includes the Force Investigations Unit, is also conducting an administrative review of the incident to determine compliance with agency policies, procedures and training.
In line with agency policies, the three officers involved in the pursuit have been placed on paid administrative leave. They were not immediately identified.