Denver Officer Suspended In Connection With Hit & Run

DENVER (CBS4) - CBS4 has learned a Denver police detective has been suspended and is under investigation for his conduct in a high profile hit-and-run investigation.

Internal Investigators are examining the conduct of Det. Jay Estrada. He was most recently assigned to the Accident Investigation Bureau. But sources familiar with the case say he was suspended after the department learned he apparently mishandled information in a December hit-and-run case in the Stapleton neighborhood.

The hit-and-run left 27-year-old Laura Gorham badly injured. She was pregnant at the time. Her unborn child did not survive the accident. Police have made no arrests in the case.

Sources familiar with what happened say Estrada is accused of getting information related to the hit-and-run, not pursuing it, then lying about it when commanding officers questioned him.

Denver police spokesman Lt. Matt Murray told CBS4 "Det. Estrada is suspended at home with pay pending an internal affairs investigation." Asked about the nature of the probe, Murray said, We don't discuss internal affairs investigations."

Estrada has been with the Denver Police Department for 11 years.