(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A police officer with the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) is recovering from minor injuries after allegedly being assaulted during a call for assistance near Austin Bluffs Parkway and North Academy Boulevard on Friday, April 21.
CSPD tweeted about the alleged assault just after 3:15 p.m. on Friday, saying that the department was responding to an assault of a police officer but that there was no threat to the public at the time.
A spokesperson for the department on scene said officers originally responded after a business in the area called for a tow truck to tow a car the business believed was abandoned in their parking lot. However, a 26-year-old man was inside the car, though CSPD said it was not clear if the man was living in the car or not.
The tow truck driver called for help from law enforcement, and CSPD said the man in the car originally complied with the responding officer when the suspect got out of his car. However, when the officer went to perform a pat-down, the man “grabbed the officer in a bear hug,” which resulted in both of them falling to the ground in a struggle.
Once on the ground, CSPD said initial investigation suggested the suspect grabbed the officer’s gun and a single shot was fired, though it did not hit the officer or the suspect.
CSPD said the suspect was taken into custody, and both he and the officer were taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries resulting from the struggle.
The investigation is still ongoing, CSPD said, and full charges have not been determined, though the spokesperson said the suspect would most likely be facing assault charges. Additional charges could still be added pending the outcome of the investigation.
