Officer Hurt In Shooting Was 'As Close To Dying As You Can Get'

By Stan Bush

DENVER (CBS4)- Denver Police Officer Antonio Lopez Jr. remained in critical condition Tuesday night after being shot by a suspect earlier that morning. Doctors say he was close to dying and credit paramedics with saving his life.

A police spokesman says Lopez was making a "routine traffic stop" near 37th Avenue and Federal Boulevard when a suspect from that vehicle opened fire and sped off. Lopez was shot multiple times in the arms and legs. The suspect was shot in the ankle.

The suspect drove two blocks and then stole a vehicle on Denver Place. Responding officers chased the fleeing car and made a stop at 20th St. and Chestnut Place downtown where the suspect was taken into custody. He was transported to Denver Health with a gunshot wound.

Trauma surgeons say there are two reasons Lopez survived: quick action by paramedics who used tourniquets to stop bleeding from the officer's extremities and his bulletproof vest, which stopped at least two round that would have been fatal.

"He was about as close to dying as you can get from blood loss," says Dr. Gene Moore, Chief Trauma Surgeon at Denver Health. "If the paramedics didn't put tourniquets on his legs he could have died."

Lopez suffered multiple gunshot wounds from a high caliber weapon to his arms and legs. Doctors say his femoral artery was severed and Lopez lost his entire blood volume during the shooting and ensuing four hour surgery. He will need multiple additional surgeries and doctors worry he may still lose a leg.

Police have made one arrest and are still looking for multiple suspects connected to the incident. Police have declined to leave descriptions for the outstanding suspects at this time, including the suspect already in custody.

"Officers want to keep that information to themselves right now," says Denver Police spokesman Sonny Jackson.

Lopez has been with the Denver Police Department since 2008. He was recently honored for helping a family after a 4-year-old called 911 when her mother suffered a medical emergency.

Stan Bush is a general assignment reporter at CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 10. Read his bio and follow him on Twitter @StanBushTV.