A 27-year-old police officer was killed while responding to a call for service Sunday morning outside of Denver, according to his department.
Arvada Police Officer Dillon Michael Vakoff was responding to a large family disturbance with another officer early Sunday morning when he was killed, police said.
The officers arrived to a chaotic scene with several people in the street, Arvada Police Chief Link Strate said in a news conference Sunday. Police received a call about the disturbance at about 1:45 a.m., according to NBC affiliate KUSA of Denver.
Officers attempted to separate individuals who were belligerent when a suspect fired and shot a female victim, Strate said. The officers and suspect then exchanged gunfire and the suspect struck Vakoff, killing him. The second officer tried to provide aid to Vakoff, but he pronounced dead at the hospital.
“Dillon is an example of everything that is good about a police officer,” Strate said at the news conference, adding that he’d been with the department since 2019. Before joining the department, Vakoff was a Staff Sergeant in U.S. Air Force for six years.
The suspect, who was also shot, is expected to survive and is in police custody. There is no ongoing threat to the community, police said in a tweet.
The female victim was transported to a hospital and is also expected to survive. It’s unclear what her involvement in the incident is at this time, Strate said.
A criminal investigation into the death of Vakoff is ongoing, Strate added.
Erick Mendoza contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
