DENVER (KDVR) — An Arvada Police Department officer was shot and killed in the line of duty Monday afternoon in Olde Town Arvada.
This marks the sixth confirmed shooting of Colorado police officers this year, according to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund and the Gun Violence Archive.
This is Arvada Police Department’s first murder of a police officer. Since 1961, two Arvada officers have died in the line of duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. One drowned in 1961, and the second officer was struck by a vehicle in 1979.
The country has experienced a violent crime surge since last summer. Law enforcement says it comes with more violence directed towards police.
In a House Oversight Committee hearing, FBI Director Christopher Wray told committee members there were 37 officers killed in the line of duty in the first five months of 2021. In 2020, 46 were killed throughout the entire year.
The first killed was Officer Eric Talley, who was fatally shot responding to the Boulder King Soopers mass shooting on March 22.
Other Colorado officers were shot this year, but not killed.
On June 4, a Colorado Springs officer was shot responding to a traffic stop.
On May 20, a Lincoln County Sherriff’s Department deputy responding to a theft report was ambushed and shot near Limon. The suspect was found later dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A Denver police officer was shot on May 9 responding to a trespassing call.
A Pueblo County Sheriff’s deputy was shot in Pueblo on Jan. 1 after responding to reports of an individual making threats by phone. The suspect was taken into custody.