DA: Denver SWAT Officer Was Injured By 'Friendly Fire'
DENVER (CBS4) - A Denver SWAT officer who was shot in the leg last year during a shootout with an armed suspect was hit by friendly fire.
That's according to the Denver District Attorney's office, which released a report about the December incident on Friday morning.
John Ruddy was hit by gunfire during the Dec. 2 pursuit of Phillip Munoz, a wanted suspect, who was armed during a vehicle and foot pursuit.
Denver police officers shot and killed Munoz, 35, when they say he brandished a gun after the chase that saw police employ flash bang grenades and police K9s. The Denver coroner ruled Munoz died of multiple gunshot wounds.
As the chase ended in gunfire, Ruddy, a 15-year department veteran, was shot in the upper part of his leg. The round was fired by fellow SWAT Officer James Bradley and it first struck Munoz before continuing on and striking Ruddy.
The shooting of Munoz was found to be legally justified because Munoz didn't drop his gun. He put it in his mouth at one point when he was attempting to climb over a fence to escape.
The report states the gun Munoz had didn't have any ammo in it at the time he was shot and killed and there were no spent casings around from the kind of gun he was carrying. However, during the autopsy investigators found 11 bullets in his front pants pocket.
Ruddy had to undergo surgery after the incident. He told investigators he knew he had made a mistake when he placed himself in a position where he could be hit by a gunshot.
