Holly MatkinDenver, CO – A group of fans broke through a gate and swarmed a firetruck during a celebratory parade for the Nuggets on Thursday, resulting in a decorated Denver police sergeant being run over by the truck and potentially losing his leg.
The tragic incident occurred near Cherokee Street and 13th Street at approximately 11:30 a.m. on June 15, The Denver Gazette reported.
As the Denver Fire Department (DFD) truck carrying several Nuggets players rounded the corner at the intersection at the end of the parade, the truck was intercepted by a mob of fans who had breached the gates, according to police.
As Denver Police Department (DPD) officers and members of the agency’s SWAT team were trying to keep the fans away from the truck, one of the officers became entangled with the truck’s tire, The Denver Gazette reported.
“The fire truck began to roll up the back of his left leg, trapping him underneath the vehicle causing a very significant lower leg injury,” Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said during a press conference later that day.
News videographer Brian Willie said he witnessed the incident firsthand.
“The truck isn’t even going a mile an hour. I mean it’s creeping barely,” Willie told CBS News. “I just heard a guy yell and I look and I see him going down to the ground and another SWAT officer starts banging on the truck.”
Cell phone footage showed police rushing to the injured officer’s aid in the wake of the incident.
Officers worked to keep the crowd back while other officers tended to the officer on the ground.
Horrible situation as @DenverPolice swat officer runnover by Denver fire truck carrying JOKIC AND Murray at 13th & Cherokee @nuggets pic.twitter.com/oeea2g4G3c
— Brian Willie (@bwillie) June 15, 2023
At least one of them applied a tourniquet to the wounded hero, CBS News reported.
“We were able to extricate him from underneath the fire truck, load him up in an ambulance and rushed him to Denver Health,” Chief Thomas said, according to The Denver Gazette.
The chief said the officer was undergoing emergency surgery in an attempt to save his leg, KUSA reported.
He was listed in serious but stable condition, according to The Colorado Sun.
It is unknown in the procedure was successful.
“As of right now, we can’t say necessarily what the outcome will be, but I can guarantee you that our orthopedic services will do everything possible to preserve the limb,” Denver Health Medical Center Director of Emergency Medicine Stephen Wolf told The Colorado Sun.
Chief Ron Thomas of @DenverPolice says fire truck that hit Sgt Justin Dodge during #NuggetsParade rolled up the back of his leg. He was pinned under the wheel. Doctors @DenverHealthMed say they are trying to save leg, operating now. @nuggets #NBA @CBSNewsColorado pic.twitter.com/5ZY7HNS0rd
— Alan Gionet (@AlanGTV) June 15, 2023
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock identified the injured officer as DPD Sergeant Justin Dodge, KUSA reported.
Hancock said Sgt. Dodge has been a member of the department’s SWAT division for many years.
He joined the DPD in 1997, The Denver Gazette reported.
