AURORA, Colo. — The Aurora police officer who was stabbed in the head by a suspect on Thursday is "in good spirits" as he recovers in the hospital, the police department announced Friday morning.
In an update, the Aurora Police Department said its officer underwent surgery and is now doing well.
"He remains in the hospital but is awake and speaking with family and medical staff," the department said. "It is unclear how long he will remain hospitalized, but he is in good spirits as he continues his recovery."
The officer was injured after responding to an apartment complex east of Cherry Creek State Park, near the intersection of E. Standford Circle and E. Tufts Drive off of Parker Road. Aurora police had responded around 3:30 p.m. after learning about a suicidal man.
"He had a large, very large butcher knife, and he was holding it to his neck, and he was continuing to make threats against himself and also kill anybody in and around the area, which included the officers," Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said in a press conference later in the day.
The Aurora Police Department held a press conference just after the shooting on Thursday. Watch that in full below.
As officers were trying to contain the scene, the suspect ran out of his door with the knife, charged at a K-9 officer and his dog and "began to thrash and stab the knife" into the officer's head, the police chief said. The K-9 was also stabbed.
That same officer was able to shoot the man.
Both the injured officer and the suspect were treated for their injuries at the scene before they were transported to a hospital. The suspect died. He has not been identified.
The K-9 received stitches for his stab wound and is also doing well as of Friday morning, Aurora police said. He has been released from the veterinarian clinic.
Out of respect for the officer's privacy, the police department is not releasing his name. They said they will provide another update next week.
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