Early Sunday morning, Officer Dillon Michael Vakoff, 27, with the Arvada Police Department was killed in the line of duty while responding to a disturbance call.
Officers arrived at a chaotic scene early Sunday morning, shots were fired by a suspect who hit both a woman and Vakoff. He was transported to Lutheran Hospital shortly after that and died from his injuries, KDVR reports.
The suspect has been identified by authorities as Sonny Almanza.
Sonny Almanza’s mother said her family called police when her son’s girlfriend’s family “came to start trouble.” She said officers were breaking up a fight between the two families and her son fired at the officer thinking he was one of his girlfriend’s family members, KDVR reports.
Officer Dillon Michael Vakoff, 27, of the Arvada (CO) Police Department was shot and killed during a large melee between families. (Photo: Arvada PD/Facebook)
Two officers responded to the disturbance around 2:30 a.m. when they were met with an agitated crowd of people involved in a confrontation. When the officers attempted to diffuse the situation and separate the group, shots were fired and Officer Vakoff, 27, was hit and mortally wounded.
Officers returned fire, shooting Almanza.
Almanza, 31, is expected to survive. He faces eight charges, including first-degree murder of a peace officer, unlawful weapon possession by a previous offender and child abuse.
