A man handcuffed in the back of a Denver police vehicle at the downtown jail accessed a weapon and shot a police officer in the neck around 11 p.m. Monday, authorities said.
The Denver Police Department publicly identified the suspect Tuesday afternoon as 33-year-old Daniel Cheeseman, who remained in the hospital in “critical but stable condition” after he was shot by another officer.
The injured officer, whose name has not been released, has since left the hospital and is continuing their recovery at home, according to Denver police.
Cheeseman is being held on investigation of two charges of attempted murder of a peace officer and possession of a weapon by a previous offender.
Police did not provide any additional information on Tuesday, including how the suspect accessed a gun after he had already been taken into custody and searched. Denver police spokesperson Jay Casillas would only say that the investigation is still ongoing.
In an early morning news conference, Denver police Chief Ron Thomas said that officers initially had arrested Cheeseman on suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle.
It’s unclear if the suspect will continue to face any charges related to the stolen vehicle. Casillas said “the investigation is ongoing to the initial incident of why he was arrested” and that the Denver District Attorney’s Office would make the final determination of charges.
Watch: DPD provides information regarding the officer-involved shooting that occurred at the Downtown Detention Center. https://t.co/oMyB1fDANe
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) November 29, 2022
Officers saw the stolen vehicle at about 9 p.m. near Perry Street and Arkansas Avenue and attempted to stop it, Thomas said, but the driver eluded officers for a short distance before stopping at Lowell Boulevard and Iowa Avenue.
The man was detained, and during a search, officers recovered a handgun and suspected narcotics on him, police said.
They transported the man to the downtown jail, and as they were attempting to remove him from the back of the police vehicle to book him into the jail, “he somehow was able to access another weapon and fire at least one round, striking one of the officers in the neck,” Thomas said.
At least one other officer fired back at the suspect and hit him multiple times, Thomas said.
Thomas said the investigation will confirm what happened, but he believes the weapon the man used was “concealed on his person.”
Denver police detectives and investigators from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Colorado State Patrol are investigating the shooting.
