DENVER — A man who didn't show up for his scheduled trial date on suspicion of intentionally hitting Denver Police officers with a vehicle missed another court hearing on Monday.
Anthony Knapp, 40, has an active warrant for his arrest after he didn't show up for his trial on Sept. 27 and another hearing in Denver District Court on Monday morning.
Knapp is accused of purposely driving into three Denver Police officers in May 2020, during protests over the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The officers were struck by a car and suffered serious injuries, according to the Denver Police Department. A civilian was also struck in the incidents, police said.
>The video above is from May 2020.
The crash happened on May 30, 2020, at 11:08 p.m. in the 1500 block of Logan Street.
According to court documents, the charges against Knapp include:
- Three counts of attempted first-degree murder with extreme indifference
- Three counts of first-degree assault with extreme indifference
- Six counts of attempted first-degree assault with extreme indifference
- Three counts of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon
- Nine counts of first-degree assault, threatening peace officer with a weapon
- One count of leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury
- One count of tampering with physical evidence.
Knapp pleaded not guilty to all charges. His bail was set at $750,000, and he was released on Dec. 8, 2020, after paying $75,000 in bond, according to the Denver Sheriff Department.
The incident took place during the third night of protests in Denver over Floyd's death. The protests, which were peaceful during the day, turned into rioting at night and included fires, vandalism, graffiti and looting. Police on numerous occasions deployed tear gas and pepper spray to gain control of the crowd.
The officers were standing next to a Denver Police Rapid Deployment Vehicle (RDV) — sometimes referred to as a SWAT van — when a black, 2017 Chevrolet Cruze traveling at a high rate of speed swerved toward the officers, according to the probable cause (PC) statement in the case.
The PC statement says the officers were struck and taken to a nearby hospital via ambulance — where it was later determined one had sustained a fractured leg and the other two sustained "substantial risk of protracted loss or impairment of any part or organ of the body." Nine other officers were in "grave danger of being struck," and two officers had to flee to avoid being struck, the PC statement says.
The driver continued north on Logan Street, the PC statement says, and a witness told officers that the vehicle was traveling at about 65 to 70 mph and that the driver turned into the officers "with intention."
A subsequent investigation led detectives to an apartment building at 1025 Sherman St. in Denver, where they saw the Chevy Cruze with extensive front-end damage parked in a lot behind the building, the PC statement says.
The vehicle was registered to Knapp and an address inside the apartment building, according to the PC statement. Detectives learned from a female inside the apartment that, according to the PC statement, Knapp had borrowed her car to go to the store.
They located her vehicle and stopped it and contacted Knapp. They ultimately asked him whether he'd be willing to go to Denver Police headquarters voluntarily, which he agreed to, according to the PC statement.
Another witness who lives at the apartment building at 1025 Sherman St. said at about 9:20 p.m., she saw a male in the parking lot yelling about being maced and saw the man in a black Chevy Cruze subsequently leave the parking lot, the PC statement says.
An additional witness also saw a man coughing and sputtering in the parking lot and leave in a Chevy Cruze, the PC statement says.
Both witnesses also said the vehicle looked like it had front-end damage the following morning, the PC statement says.
A Colorado Bureau of Investigation report shows Knapp's prior offenses include a few traffic violations.
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