By Police1 Staff
DENVER — A Denver officer was seriously wounded when another officer fired and accidentally struck him in the leg, Denver Post reported.
Technician John Ruddy was struck once in the thigh, according to a report by District Attorney Mitch Morrissey and obtained by the publication. The bullet hit Ruddy after it fatally passed through the suspect, Philip Munoz. Ruddy told investigators he was standing in the wrong location and exposed himself to crossfire.
“Terrible!” Ruddy said in the report.
The Dec. 2 incident occurred when officers attempted to arrest Munoz, who had a warrant for shooting his ex-girlfriend and trying to kidnap and shoot another ex-girlfriend. The FBI’s Rocky Mountain Safe Street’s Task Force, along with Denver police and SWAT attempted to serve the warrant.
Officers first cornered Munoz in an alley in a stolen vehicle, but he sped away. Officers eventually boxed him in and a standoff ensued. Munoz held his firearm to his head at one point.
Officers attempted less-lethal options but Munoz refused to comply.
“For 20 minutes, the officers made repeated efforts to gain Munoz’s compliance and have him surrender peacefully,” Morrissey said. “Any reasonable police officer confronted with these facts would conclude that Munoz was desperate and was not going to surrender peacefully.”
The two officers who fired on Munoz during the fatal encounter were cleared by prosecutors.