Law enforcement personnel from both the Adams County Sheriff's Office and Denver Police Department engaged in a high speed chase which ultimately resulted in a critical hostage situation.

In the early morning hours of September 12th, 2020, Adam's County Deputies attempted to pull over a white ford SUV near 58th Avenue and Broadway for an unspecified traffic violation. As officers pursued the SUV, the driver began accelerating the vehicle at a high rate of speed. In a desperate attempt to shake the deputies, the male occupant began discharging a firearm at ACSO deputies.

The pursuit eventually headed into Denver Police Departments jurisdiction, however ACSO deputies continued to pursue and were ultimately joined by DPD officers. Both agencies were able to stop the fleeing vehicle with a pit maneuver, causing the vehicle to lose control on Meade Street and Conejos Place. With the vehicle crashing to a halt, the two occupants, one male and one female, fled the area on foot.

A short while later, the two were located in a backyard on Meade Street, where the male suspect was now observed holding a firearm to the females head. After exhausting all de-escalation tactics, one DPD officer in a nearby alley took a precise shot, striking the male suspect in the head. The female subject immediately moved away from the wounded male. While approaching the wounded suspect, deputies and officers observed the male still attempting to gain possession of his firearm, where two DPD officers and three ACSO deputies furthermore unloaded on the suspect.

It’s not clear how many shots in total were fired, nor how many times the man was shot. Officers attempted to provide medical assistance to the suspect, who would later be identified as 33-year-old Christopher Escobedo. Denver Health Medical Center Paramedics responded to the location and pronounced Escobedo deceased at 4:30 a.m.