On Wednesday, Denver police revealed videotape from two separate shootings that occurred on the same day last week, leaving two officers wounded. At a press conference held at the Denver Police Department headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, officials reported that both officers had been shot upon by suspects and had fired back.
Chief Ron Thomas, who has served with the police force for 34 years, stated that he has never heard of two cops being shot on the same day. “The challenge we face here in Denver is there are too many guns out in our community and we have individuals who feel emboldened to use them,” Thomas said. “It’s a challenge.”
The bulletproof vests worn by both cops were undoubtedly a contributing factor to their survival. Thomas emphasized that “vests are strongly encouraged” for all officers to wear even if it is not a requirement. Both the CCTV footage and the body camera footage showed police officers engaging the suspects in gunfire.
The tweet below verifies the news:
UPDATE: Denver police on Wednesday released video footage of the two separate incidents on the same day last week in which officers were shot and injured. Both officers were fired upon by suspects and both officers returned fire, officials said. https://t.co/P5ty6M7B4v
— The Denver Post (@denverpost) June 21, 2023
Shooting Outside Quality Inn
On the morning of June 7, a guy attacked a police officer sitting in a marked patrol car and fired multiple bullets outside the entrance to a Quality Inn near the corner of Speer Boulevard and North Zuni Street. Wednesday, 35-year-old Nicholas Lendrum was identified as the culprit after reviewing the surveillance footage.
Soon after, he opens fire on the police officer from outside the vehicle through the front passenger window. A corporal assigned to District 6 drops in his seat and tumbles out the driver’s side door, as captured on film. Major Crimes Division Cmdr. Matt Clark said at a press conference on Wednesday that the officer had been shot three times, once in the front of his body and twice in the rear.
Lendrum may be seen on camera walking around the front of the patrol car while the officer fires back. The cop then takes cover behind the passenger side of the patrol car and keeps firing. When the shooting stops, the cop uses his radio to communicate.
“Shots fired, I’m hit,” he says. “I have my eye on the suspect. He’s down, I don’t see him moving. The suspect is down, start an ambulance.” The officer and Lendrum were transferred to Denver Health Medical Center, where Lendrum later died. The officer was not named Wednesday. The cop was bruised due to the protective vest he was wearing. After being cured, he was freed.
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Police said Lendrum fired 18 shots at an officer using a 9 mm Glock handgun. Lendrum had a revolver as well, though he never used it. The officer, who has been with the force since 2013, had 17 bullets to use against Lendrum. According to Clark, the cop has never fired his weapon in the line of duty.
Police stated on Wednesday that they are still unsure of what motivated Lendrum, a Colorado resident, to ambush the officer. A probe is currently underway. Murder and mayhem on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Forest Street Police said the second incident happened near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Forest Street in Denver’s northeast.
ShotSpotter reports were sent out at 7:30 p.m. for the intersection of MLK Boulevard and Cherry Street due to reports of shots being fired. About two minutes later, two police officers from District 2 arrived. At 7:33 p.m., a person matching a suspect description was located, and they fled the scene on a scooter while officers pursued them in a patrol car, according to Clark.
The chase eventually turned into a foot chase, and it ended near MLK and Forest. In the footage, an officer can be seen rushing after a young suspect while holding his firearm and uttering obscenities. According to Clark, the teen fired “at least once at the officer” before the police officer retaliated with his own gunfire.
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