DENVER (KDVR) — New video in a series of incidents in Clear Creek County has been released, showing a Clear Creek County sergeant and an Idaho Springs officer being dragged “backward” by a driver trying to get away on Saturday.
Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday that Aaron Family, 43, is being held on a $200,000 bond and remains in custody in connection with multiple incidents, including two hit-and-run crashes within the county on Oct. 18.
The sheriff’s office said the series of incidents began around noon, when a suspect in a Toyota Tacoma allegedly hit a parked vehicle and drove off from a Safeway parking lot in Idaho Springs.
According to the sheriff’s office, the Tacoma was registered to Family. The Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office sergeant and the Idaho Springs Police Department officer then attempted to make contact with him at his home.
While on the way there, the sergeant and officer found the suspect vehicle and blocked it, attempting to get the alleged suspect to exit it; however, the suspect was “non-compliant.”
“When the officer and sergeant attempted to remove Family from the vehicle, he put the vehicle in reverse, dragging the officer and sergeant backward several feet and knocking the officer down,” according to a sheriff’s office release.
The officer was transported to a hospital with a serious injury to her leg, but is expected to make a full recovery, said the sheriff’s office.
The suspect then drove east on Dumont Road and then entered east on Interstate 70 around mile marker 235. The sheriff’s office said that the sergeant then followed the vehicle onto I-70 and located the suspect.
“The suspect vehicle was traveling in the right lane when the sergeant attempted to initiate a traffic stop. The suspect vehicle then rammed the patrol vehicle, forcing it into the concrete barriers that divide the eastbound and westbound lanes,” said the sheriff’s office.
The sergeant was reportedly uninjured, but the Clear Creek patrol vehicle was damaged. The suspect was reported to have exited the highway after the incident at Fall River Road.
Saturday afternoon, the sheriff’s office reported that a suspect was taken into custody after law enforcement deployed a stop stick in the 340 block of Stanley Road, causing the Tacoma to crash in the 400 block of Dumont Road. The suspect ran away but was caught within a few minutes.
“While resisting arrest, Family spit in a Clear Creek detective’s face, adding Second-Degree Assault on a Peace Officer to his charges,” the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office identified Family, who is facing the following charges:
First-degree assault on a peace officer
Second-degree assault on a peace officer
Resisting arrest
Felony menacing
Felony vehicular eluding
Reckless driving
Reckless endangerment
DUI
Accident involving damage (hit-and-run)
Final charges will be determined by the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
