COP INJURED; SUSPECT KILLED

Officer Shoots Gunman In Car

Friday, November 08, 2002 - A veteran Denver police officer was shot in the
face during a traffic stop Thursday before a fellow officer shot and killed
the suspected gunman.

Post / Glenn Asakawa Police check the site where Denver officer Kurt
Peterson was shot in the face Thursday during a traffic stop. The man
suspected of shooting Peterson was killed by another officer. Peterson was
the first Denver officer shot since Bruce VanderJagt was killed in 1997.

Police officer Kurt Peterson, 39, was in serious but stable condition after
he was shot on Bruce Randolph Avenue east of Colorado Boulevard in east Denver.

He was the first Denver police officer shot since Bruce VanderJagt was
killed in 1997.

"He's doing real good. He's got his family there. He's in a lot better
shape than we anticipated," said Police Chief Gerry Whitman.

The suspected shooter, Anthony Jefferson, 20, of Denver, was killed by
police. He was named in a warrant that could have sent him to jail for at
least two years had he been arrested, authorities said.

The warrant stemmed from a 2000 case in which he received a two-year
deferred sentence for selling crack cocaine, Denver District Attorney Bill
Ritter said.

The deferred judgment was revoked in 2001 after he was caught using
marijuana, Ritter said. Jefferson violated his probation again this year,
Ritter said. He was ordered to appear in court in April, and when he did
not show up, the warrant was issued.

The shooting took place during what looked to be a routine traffic stop at
Bruce Randolph Avenue and Albion Street, a corner ringed by three churches
and a day care.

Peterson called in the traffic stop at 10:45 a.m.

He had pulled over a maroon Toyota Camry in front of the East Denver Church
of Christ. He approached the driver's side of the car, took the names of
the people inside and went back to his patrol car to check them for
warrants, Whitman said.

When he determined that the passenger in the car had given him a phony
name, Peterson flagged down 22-year veteran patrol officer John Super, who
was driving by.

Together they went to the Toyota and pulled out the driver, identified as
LaJuan Simmons, 25, of Denver, police said. The officers had Simmons sit on
the curb behind the Camry. Then Peterson went to remove the passenger,
police said, with Super nearby.

Neither officer had his gun drawn, police Lt. Jon Priest said.

Peterson told Jefferson to show his hands. He didn't, Whitman said.
Peterson then reached into the car and tried to pull the passenger out,
Whitman said.

Jefferson, police said, pulled a .38-caliber revolver and fired once. The
bullet traveled through Peterson's left cheek, and he immediately fell to
the ground.

Super drew his handgun and fired "multiple times," Priest said.

Inside the Church of Christ, Diane Hughes was at her computer when the
shooting started.

RECENT SHOOTINGS OF ON-DUTY OFFICERS November 1997: Officer Bruce
VanderJagt was shot and killed by robbery suspect by Mathhaeus Jaehnig.

February 1996: Officer Rufino Trujillo was shot and wounded by Alfredo
Serna after Serna escaped from the Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center
in Golden.

February 1995: Officer Shawn Leinen was killed by Raymond Gone when he
tried to question the teenager about a car theft.

July 1993: Officer Rick McNellis was shot and wounded while wrestling with
Manuel Gamboa during a drug raid.

May 1992: Officer David Iverson was wounded after he and his partner opened
fire on a 60-year-old woman who pointed a revolver at the officers.

February 1991: Officer Robert Silvas was shot in the arm by Phillip Gayle
Taylor during a shootout that killed Taylor and one other robbery suspect.
Silvas and other officers were attempting to arrest Taylor in a series of
armed robberies when he fired at them.

June 1987: Police recruit James Wier was killed by a shotgun blast to the
face while responding to a domestic dispute. Charles Tarr later was found
dead in his home.

December 1986: Patrolman Patrick Pollock was shot and killed while
responding to a robbery on East Colfax Avenue. Pollock's partner, Dan
Saracino, fatally wounded the fleeing suspect.

June 1986: Officer Tim Pulford was shot and wounded during a gang-related
disturbance that broke out at the annual Juneteenth celebration.

March 1985: Officer Dave Roberts was shot in the face in 1985 when he
attempted to arrest three kidnapping suspects. "I just heard a boom, boom,
boom, then, like a loud screech noise, then sirens after that," she said.
"Just that fast."

Police cars across much of east and northeast Denver turned on their lights
and sirens and raced to the scene.

"It seemed like every cop in Denver showed up at that point," said the Rev.
Matthew Kingsbury, who was in his office in Park Hill Presbyterian Church
when he heard the shots.

At 11:06 a.m., Jefferson was pronounced dead at the scene, still in his
seat belt.

Paramedics raced Peterson to Denver Health Medical Center. There, staffers
held up white sheets to shield Peterson from media cameras and onlookers.

Whitman said the scene reminded him of when officer VanderJagt was brought
into the hospital in 1997. He held his breath.

"It looked like a really bad wound," he said of Peterson's injury. "But he
was moving his legs, so that was good to see."

From witness accounts, the traffic stop initially seemed unremarkable.
Manuel Montoya, 26, had just parked his garbage truck when Peterson pulled
the car over.

"It looked like just a routine stop. The lights were flashing and the cars
were just sitting there," Montoya said. "I didn't pay much attention at first."

As dozens of onlookers watched police after the shootings, Jefferson's body
dangled out of the Toyota. The passenger-side windows were shot out, and
bullet fragments were strewn on the street.

Peterson could have died, said Dr. Kevin McVaney, attending emergency
physician at Denver Health Medical Center. The bullet entered Peterson's
cheek and broke apart, and fragments came out his neck.

"He was really lucky. A little bit one way or the other and it could have
entered his eye or his brain," McVaney said.

Still, about 30 bullet fragments are lodged in Peterson's head. Doctors
worked feverishly to stop the bleeding and protect fragile facial nerves,
McVaney said.

Super visited Peterson in intensive care Thursday afternoon. Peterson
probably will spend several more days in the hospital, authorities said.

Simmons, who has no known criminal history in Colorado, was released
Thursday afternoon. Priest said police had no reason to hold him.

Peterson, a 15-year veteran, has received 33 departmental commendations,
including the Medal of Valor, Distinguished Service Award and other merit
citations. He has served in the Gang Bureau and Criminal Investigations
Division and currently is assigned to District 2 in northeast Denver.

"This is one of the best street cops I know," Whitman said.

He has had legal troubles in recent years.

Peterson pleaded guilty in 2000 to abuse of public records and
second-degree official misconduct for destroying evidence in more than 70
drug cases, causing at least five cases to be dismissed.

Peterson is awaiting an April civil trial in a 1998 lawsuit filed against
him and other Denver officers for allegedly forcing their way into a
woman's home and threatening her in retaliation for complaints against
another officer. Peterson was not charged with a crime in the incident.

District 2 Cmdr. Mike O'Neill said Peterson and Super are "superb" officers.

"Our residents in northeast Denver owe him gratitude for his work," O'Neill
said. "He has taken many violent criminals off Denver's streets."

Thursday afternoon, every officer in the department was relieved to hear
that Peterson would be all right, said police spokeswoman Teresa Garcia.

"Just to hear the call go over the air, it's very emotional for every
officer," Garcia said.

Denver Post staff writer Jim Hughes and Marilyn Robinson contributed to
this report.