Robert Motyka, Denver police officer, shot in high-speed chase; one suspect dead, four caught
Details are still emerging about a high-speed police chase yesterday that ended with one suspect dead, four others in custody, and a Denver police officer identified as Robert Motyka hospitalized after a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. Speculation about what started the chase focuses on the death of an infant in Thornton. As for Motyka, he's among the officers named in a lawsuit over a much-publicized 2009 incident.
Pics, video below.
According to the Denver Police Department, officers received a dispatched bolo (the latter translates to "be on the lookout") from the Thornton PD for several individuals wanted in connection with what's described as a "domestic violence felony menacing incident."
A Thornton police spokesman tells 9News that one of the suspects allegedly threatened to shoot someone after finding out about the death of a baby, age four months, yesterday morning. However, the gun didn't fire, and the man in question split in a red Dodge pickup -- the very kind of vehicle noted in the bolo.
Just such a truck was spotted at around 3:15 p.m. near 42nd Avenue and Tejon Street. But when Denver police officers attempted to make a traffic stop, the DPD maintains that someone inside began firing a weapon in their direction.
The aftermath of the chase, captured in 9News footage.
This act triggered a chase during which numerous shots were fired from the truck -- one of which struck Officer Motyka, reportedly in the shoulder.
Motyka's injury didn't end the pursuit; it continued until the driver of the pickup lost control of the vehicle near 39th Avenue and Osage Street, crashing into a tree. Of the Dodge's five passengers, one was pronounced dead at the scene, three were captured immediately, and the other fled but was nabbed a short time later.
The police have not released names or photos of the suspects in the case, and neither has the DPD confirmed Motyka's identity. Once they do, it won't be the first time he's turned up in news stories.
Continue for more about the police chase and Officer Robert Motyka, including a photo, documents and a video.
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