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Officer Shoots, Kills Driver After Passenger Gets Tased In Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) - A 40-year-old woman has died after a police officer shot her as she tried to drive away in a stolen car from the scene of a traffic stop.

Lakewood police say the incident started early Thursday morning when police began following a car near Colfax Avenue and Pierce Street.

Lakewood police wrote in a prepared statement that an officer "determined the license plate on a 2007 Suzuki he was following was stolen. The vehicle was occupied by a 40-year-old female driver and a male passenger."

Officers pulled over the SUV and when the passenger started becoming aggressive, an officer tased him. The driver then tried to take off while one of the officers was trying to turn off the ignition as he was reaching in the window.

Scene
(credit: CBS)

The officer then fired his gun once and shot the driver. She was taken to the hospital where she died.

Police arrested the passenger, who they say is Bernard John Trujillo, 48. Trujillo is currently on parole and was arrested on charges of violating his parole. He was taken to the Jefferson County Jail, and police said it's likely he will face new charges in connection with Thursday's incident.

Bernard John Trujillo
Bernard John Trujillo (credit: Lakewood Police)

The name of the woman who was killed so far hasn't been released.

The officer who fired the gun had minor injuries to his arm which he got when it was pinned inside the car.

Police said the SUV had been stolen in Denver earlier in the week and that the license plate that was on it was stolen from a different vehicle.

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