Fatal Shooting

Copper Canyon Apartment Officer Involved Shooting

Highland Ranch, Colorado: Deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department were called to the Copper Canyon Apartment complex early Sunday morning for a domestic violence incident. Upon arriving, the deputies were fired upon by 1 suspect in an apartment.

0514AM MT: Deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Officer and Castle Rock Police Department were called to 3404 County Line Road in Highland Ranch, Copper Canyon Apartments.

UPDATE, we have multiple deputies down, no update on their status. The scene remains active and please avoid the area.

— DC Sheriff (@dcsheriff) December 31, 2017

What I know as far as the Colorado incident.

Multiple deputies shot, at least 1 w/GSW to arm, 1 w/GSW to chest.

1 deputy still in apartment where shooting occurred. Unk condition.

A couple of civilian casualties.

1 perp with automatic weapon according to transmissions.

— Motor City 911 (@DetroitScanner) December 31, 2017

0515AM MT: Shots Fired, Officers Down – Deputies/officers were fired on from a suspect inside the apartment. 5 deputies/officers were hit, 3 were able to extract themselves from the immediate scene and found cover.

1 deputy sustained injuries that prevented him from leaving the apartment.

1 deputy was wounded and fell outside and in front of the apartment.

Deputies called for medical and assistance, noting they had injured officers on the scene.

1 deputy had a GSW to the arm, another to the chest. The deputy calling for assistance noted that he had 1 deputy down.

All the deputies/officers involved in the incident had at least 1 gunshot wound (GSW), some more.

0600AM MT: Additional deputies/officers arrived on scene and started to evaluate the incident. The injured officers were still under fire from the suspect and other deputies/officers were attempting to locate their positions for extraction.

A SWAT callout was issued and SWAT elements proceeded to the incident.

Rescue efforts were underway for all the injured, including the deputy outside the immediate vicinity of the apartment and the deputy inside.

A deputy situated close to the suspects apartment could hear the radio of the downed deputy inside the apartment, but heard nothing from the wounded deputy. That radio was eventually silenced by a radio technician at the DCSO.

Shots continued to be fired and the deputy noted he could hear the suspect “reloading”. Shots can be heard on the radio transmissions.

At one point, the deputy stated he thought the suspect was armed with an “automatic weapon”.

Shots continued to be fired by the suspect, some of those shots were fired through walls of the apartment and apartment complex.

2 civilians were wounded by those rounds. The 2 civilians were extracted from the scene and conveyed to a local hospital.

The deputy who remained inside the apartment died from his wounds. He’s been identified as a 7 month veteran of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, formerly of the Castle Rock Police Department. 29-year-old Deputy Zackari Parrish. He leaves behind a wife and 2 children.

The other deputies/officer wounded are as follows.

Deputy Michael Doyle, 28-year-old, was shot and in stable condition

Deputy Taylor Davis, 30-year-old, shot and in stable condition

Deputy Jeffrey Pelle- 32-year-old, shot and in stable condition

CRPD Officer Tom O’Donnell (Castle Rock Police Department)– 41-year-old shot and in stable condition

The 2 civilians wounded have not been identified.

The suspect was shot and killed. He’s been identified as Matthew Riehl. Someone known to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and no criminal record. Local media in Denver has identified him as a veteran. No further information available.

Douglas County Coroner confirms shooting suspect in #CopperCanyonOIS as Matthew Riehl DOB 9/09/80 (pictured). Investigation still ongoing and being investigated by @DA18th Critical Response Team. pic.twitter.com/H6wT0klSQv

— DC Sheriff (@dcsheriff) January 1, 2018

The dispatch audio has been heavily edited due to time and size constraints, but all the pertinent information on the incident is included. Audio is from Broadcastify.

Dispatch Audio Of Copper Canyon Apartments OIS