DENVER — A police officer and a suspect were shot during a confrontation in east Denver Wednesday night.
The Denver Police Department (DPD) said they received an alert from their Spot Shotter system just before 7:30 p.m. that there had been gunfire in the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Cherry Street.
They got a description of a potential suspect and located him within a few minutes. He rode off on a scooter, then went on foot, police said.
After briefly pursuing the suspect by car, officers got out and started a foot pursuit, catching up with him a few blocks to the east.
There was then an exchange of gunfire between an officer and the suspect, during which both of them were shot, police said.
>BELOW VIDEO: DPD gives update on shooting involving an officer
The officer was wearing a bulletproof vest and was taken to the hospital in good condition, according to DPD. The suspect was hospitalized in critical condition.
DPD said the officer has been with the department since 2017.
The suspect has not been identified.
The Office of the Independent Monitor will oversee the investigation into the shooting and turn over its findings to the Denver District Attorney's Office.
It was the second time Wednesday that a Denver Police officer was saved by a bulletproof vest. In the first incident, police said an officer fatally shot a man who had shot him multiple times in his patrol car in an unprovoked attack.
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