A suspect shot and killed a Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office K-9 early Monday near Golden before he was arrested, authorities said.
Investigators said police tried to confront the suspect just after midnight near 19th and Elm streets in Golden after he was spotted slumped over the steering wheel of a vehicle. He wasn’t responsive to officers.
“The drive woke and began moving the vehicle at a slow rate of speed while swerving into oncoming traffic,” the Golden Police Department said in a news release. The suspect then began ramming officers’ vehicles, authorities said.
The suspect eventually fled on foot into a wooded area before the sheriff’s office, including a K-9 unit, responded to try to apprehend him. That’s when authorities say the suspect killed the dog, named Graffit, before surrendering at about 5 a.m.
Golden police say a sheriff’s deputy fired their gun during the encounter. It’s not clear if the suspect, whose name hasn’t been released, was hurt.
Investigators say they recovered a gun at the scene.