COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo — The man who shot and critically wounded a Colorado Springs police officer in August 2018 was sentenced Thursday to 45 years, according to the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office.
Cem Duzel was shot in the head while trying to apprehend a suspect east of downtown Colorado Springs near East Platte Avenue and East Boulder Street on Aug. 2, 2018.
>The video above is from 2019 when Duzel shared a message publicly.
Early that morning, police received numerous calls about an armed man firing shots in the area of Bonfoy Avenue and Boulder Street and when officers arrived they exchanged gunfire with the person they later identified as Karrar Noaman Al Khammasi.
A spokesperson for Uber told 9NEWS that a female Uber driver kicked out a passenger due to their behavior early and called 911 when that passenger started firing shots outside the vehicle.
Duzel, who suffered a serious brain injury, spent months completing rehab at Craig Hospital after the shooting before returning to his home state of New York to be closer to his family.
Nearly 15 months after he was shot, Duzel came back to Colorado where he was awarded the Medal of Honor – the highest award given by the Colorado Springs Police Department.
Al Khammasi was charged with the shooting of Duzel. He was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon, felony menacing and illegal possession of a weapon.
Court records said Al Khammasi, an Iraqi refugee, had been slated for deportation in 2016 until a change in immigration law meant his felony trespassing conviction was no longer grounds for removal.
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