By Ginger Delgado, 9NEWS-Denver, Associated Press and The Denver Post
The Denver Police Department officer who was shot in the arm during a traffic stop Jan. 7, said today he’s thankful to be alive.
In an interview today, Officer Kevin Kreuzer also thanked the department and the community for all their support. He’s recovering at home from a gunshot wound to his left arm which left his arm a little sore, but otherwise he’s doing fine.
Kreuzer called it one of the scariest and luckiest moments of his life.
“I do thank God for this because the outcome could have been a lot worse and I’m a firm believer in God and my prayers have been answered that I came out of this one,” he said.
Wednesday morning, Kreuzer had pulled over a car driven by Robert Zamora for speeding on West Colfax Avenue when Zamora, still sitting in the driver’s seat, suddenly pulled out a gun and opened fire, hitting Kreuzer in the arm.
Authorities captured the convicted felon suspected in the shooting just over an hour later. Major streets were closed in both directions after the 8:25 a.m. shooting and several schools in the area briefly were under “lockdown” status.
Police spokeswoman Virginia Lopez said the suspect in the shooting, identified as 23-year-old Robert Zamora, was taken into custody at about 9:45 a.m. He was hiding in a laundry room in an unattached house in the back yard of another home.
A weapon was also discovered in the back yard, Lopez said.
Zamora has a lengthy arrest record, and was due in court Friday on an unrelated case.
“It’s something that we train for and talk about on a daily basis and when it happens, you’re never prepared for it. And you want to be as prepared as you can be. It’s a frightening ordeal to go through. I’m very lucky that I survived the ordeal and was able to be here today to talk about it,” said Kreuzer, who’s been on the police force since 1986.
“With all the shots that were fired at him and to just be hit in the arm like that and then to have the bullet come back out and no damage was done to his arm, ... he’s very lucky,” said his wife, Jeannie. “We’re all lucky. Our whole family is just thanking God that he’s OK.”
After the suspect fled on foot Police found blood on the sidewalk two blocks from Xavier and followed it.
Kreuzer fired back at Zamora, unaware that Zamora’s 2-year-old son was in the car. The boy was not injured and was taken into protective custody.
“I’m still in total shock and disbelief that there was a child in that car. It’s hard to believe that this situation even happened. I can’t even comprehend that.” Kreuzer says his focus now is to thank those who supported him, especially his fellow officers who stood by him. “I wanted to be able to sit here today and thank everybody, and that’s what gives me the drive to want to go back to work. ... I know I have the backing for the people I protect and serve and the backing of my department and the city of Denver.” Kreuzer says he also wants to thank Mayor John Hickenlooper for his support, as well as dozens of police agencies across the state that contacted him. And finally, he sends his thanks to the state Legislature for opening its session on Wednesday with a moment of silence for him.