Earlier today, a quartet of Denver police officers on bike patrol helped escort high school students who had marched to the Capitol to protest the Ferguson grand jury decision. An out-of-control car struck the cops, injuring the four. Three were released from the hospital tonight. But nine-year DPD veteran John Adsit remains in critical condition. He is out of surgery and stable.
The Denver police department provided Twitter updates. The driver of the errant car apparently suffered a medical emergency.
Via the Associated Press:
Students had been planning to rally for some time but spontaneously decided to head to the Capitol to raise awareness about police abuse, Amarae Moland, a sophomore who helped organize the protest, told The Associated Press.
She was grateful officers escorted them.
“A lot of the students felt bad,” Moland said. “We were running through the streets, and the cops were just there to help and ended up getting hurt.”
The officers were struck as the protest wound down and students returned to the school.
“I saw one of them, they were trying to get him up and he couldn’t really get up,” Moland said.
The injured bicycle officers are all veterans of the department and assigned to patrol the downtown pedestrian mall.
Councilman Brooks, whose district includes the mall, said he visited the family of Adsit, who has been on the force for nine years.
The officers “basically allowed these students to enjoy their First Amendment rights,” Brooks said.
Citizens are showing appreciation for the good guys.
