Colorado Police have identified the 27-year-old officer that was killed while responding to a large family disturbance call as Officer Dillon Vakoff.
The Arvada Police Department said that when officers arrived, they found a “chaotic scene with multiple people in the street.”
When two of the officers tried to separate ‘several belligerent and uncooperative individuals’ the suspect started shooting, hitting a female victim – who is expected to survive.
That’s when officers opened fire at the suspect, and Vakoff was shot and killed.
In a news release, Police said,
“The second officer on scene attempted to rescue his friend and colleague and provide first aid,”
Vakoff was taken to the hospital where he later died.
The suspect, who has not been identified, was also shot but is expected to survive. He was taken to a hospital, where he remains in police custody.
According to the release, Vakoff was a member of the force since 2019, and was an exemplary officer,
“Dillion is an example of everything good you would want in a police officer. He was training toward being a SWAT Officer, and without a doubt would have continued to have a positive impact on his community. This is a tragic loss to this community, to this department, but most significantly to his family and loved ones. His service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
Prior to serving the Arvada Police Department, Vakoff was a staff sergeant in the United States Air Force, where he served for six years.
Colorado has become increasingly violent over the last few years, with crime up in almost all categories a trend that started before the pandemic and continues to rise.
According to the latest data from Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Violent crime, which counts homicides, aggravated assaults, sex assaults and robberies, is up nearly 20%. Murder is up nearly 50% over the last two years.
Property crime has spiked 20 percent and auto theft skyrocketed by 86 percent. Juvenile aggravated assault with a firearm is up from 29 percent of all aggravated assaults in 2016 to 44 percent of all aggravated assaults in 2021.
And Identity theft rates have more than doubled from 121 crimes per 100,000 people to 396 crimes per 100,000 people.
An analysis done by the FBI discovered that Colorado had the fourth-highest increase in all crimes in the country.
Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen, who has been speaking out about the skyrocketing crime rates says the state legislature needs to find solutions,
“Colorado, historically, has been a remarkably safe state, well below the national averages … we can’t say that anymore. I study this crime data on a daily basis and we have significant challenges. Until we come together and are even willing to admit we have a problem, I’m not sure how we’ll be able to get this fixed.”
Pazen also says the crime has nothing to do with the pandemic,
“Please tell me how a virus makes people commit more crimes, makes people steal more cars, increases the number of shootings we have?” he said. “The state of Colorado has emerged from many of the mandates earlier than other states, yet the last four months have been remarkably high for homicides.”
Pazen thinks lawmakers and other state leaders need to evaluate ‘soft on crime’ laws passed in recent years by Democrat leadership, pointing to policies that lessened penalties for crimes.
