On 09/02/16, Detective Dan Brite and other members of the Douglas County IMPACT Unit responded to a suicidal subject. Upon arrival, the subject was leaving his residence with several weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammo. The subject saw the police and retreated back to his residence. Members of the IMPACT Unit followed the subject back to his residence. Upon immediately entering the subject’s driveway, he opened fire on members of the IMPACT Unit with an AK-47 rifle.
Members of the IMPACT Unit immediately returned fire. Detective Brite was shot in the chest with an AK-47 round. He was wearing body armor, but the bullet entered the left side of his chest just below his armpit – the small area not covered by a vest. Detective Brite continued firing on the subject until he lost consciousness. A SWAT Medic and members of the IMPACT Unit immediately assessed Detective Brite and transported him to an awaiting ambulance. Detective Brite was transported to Parker Adventist Hospital.
Detective Brite was dead upon entering the hospital. Dr. Bertocchi, along with an amazing hospital staff, began the nearly impossible task of bringing Detective Brite back to life. Detective Brite was given less than a 1% chance of survival, but he came back to life. Just 20 minutes later, Detective Brite died a second time, and the hospital staff shocked his heart repeatedly until he came back to life.
Detective Brite became a paraplegic due to the gunshot wound. He faces a very long road to recovery.
Adsit Strong is honored to share Detective Brite’s story and support him as one of the beneficiaries of this year’s Rise and Run. Please join us this year in supporting this amazing man!
Deputy John “Trey” Arnold has worked for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office as a traffic enforcement officer and motor officer for the last several years. He has been a valued and extremely active member of our office for his entire tenure. He has a wife and two children at home.
In June of 2015, Trey underwent surgery to repair some herniated discs in his neck. His recovery was very long, and he used all of his allotted 12 weeks of FMLA leave. As he neared the end of his leave, he started feeling the extra pressure that he HAD to get back to work even if he needed more time, because he was almost out of his FMLA leave.
The day Trey did come back to work, his oldest son, a step-son, committed suicide. Trey again needed some understandable leave from work. The Sheriff’s Office accommodated him, and he took some more time off. His leave was completely exhausted.
After Trey again returned to work, he resumed his duties on the Traffic Unit. Then, in March of 2016, Trey was investigating a car crash in a blizzard. As he was completing some paperwork and meeting with the driver of one of the vehicles, he got into the back seat of the person’s vehicle which was a 4-door pickup truck. That pickup got hit by another motorist, while Trey was in the back seat. Trey’s head went through the back window of the pickup truck. He was transported to the hospital with a serious head injury and also re-injured his neck.
While the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has stepped up to take care of Trey financially during this trying time, there is concern about Trey’s being able to return to full duty. Trey does not have the opportunity to work extra duty to supplement his income, although his base income is whole at this point.
It is incredibly tragic that such a productive member of the Sheriff’s Office who has given so much to his community, suffered such a tragic personal loss, and been seriously injured trying to serve those in our community should at all suffer financially. Trey’s story is like many other law enforcement officers that have been through similar situations. Trey knows that he will return to full duty, but does not know when that will happen.
Kimberly Collins has been a Lakewood Police Agent since 2012. On July 5, 2014, she was dispatched to a welfare check when another agent was shot. Knowing another agent had been critically wounded responding to the call, Agent Collins moved toward the area of the shooting, using cover from the cars parked on the street. Agent Collins was shot in the left knee while moving forward to the next car for cover. She was able to maintain composure to radio her location and status several times and remained motionless to not attract further gunfire. She refused assistance from a citizen who came to render aid and directed them back to safety as events were still unfolding. She was bleeding out for over seven minutes until the shooter was taken into custody and Agents were able to come to her aid. Once officers could make it to her, they rendered lifesaving aid by applying a tourniquet to her leg. Numerous metro area law enforcement agencies responded to the initial call and were involved in the subsequent investigation.
Agent Collins endured 10 surgeries and doctors were able to miraculously save her leg. After 35 days, she was released from the hospital and began the extensive rehabilitative process. During this process, Agent Collins tested and received a Detective position while working light duty. At the deadline of April, 2016, Det. Collins passed the agility course required in order to keep her job. After a jury found the shooter guilty on all counts, on June 23, 2016, the judge sentenced the shooter to 120 years in prison. There has been a great collaboration of law enforcement from multiple jurisdictions, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, firefighters, victim advocates, civilian employees, DA’s office, church communities, prayer warriors, and extended friends and families to make her recovery all possible. Although the journey to recovery is a life-long daily process, Det. Collins is very blessed by her faith, tremendous support from family and friends, and honored to be able to continue to work alongside brothers and sisters in blue.
Antonio Lopez Jr. has been a Denver Police Officer since 2008. Sergeant Lopez is the oldest of 5 and followed in his father’s footsteps into his law enforcement career. On December 8, 2015, he was on routine patrol and conducted a traffic stop at 37th and Federal and was immediately barraged with gunfire.
Sergeant Lopez was shot three times (twice in the left arm and once in the chest) before he was even able to exit his patrol car. After exiting the vehicle, he exchanged gunfire with the suspect. During the exchange, he was struck by numerous bullets with one striking his left thigh; it shattered his femur bone and severed the femoral artery. The suspect was struck once in the left ankle, fled the scene and was eventually apprehended by officers.
Sergeant Lopez was rushed to Denver Health Medical Center where he underwent numerous surgeries to save his life and limbs. He went through a total of 19 liters of blood transfusions; and after five major surgeries, he was released from the hospital on December 31, 2015.
Sergeant Lopez still has a long road to recovery. He will undergo numerous nerve transplant surgeries, in hope of allowing him to walk normally and regain feeling in his left leg.