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On Saturday, February 11, Colorado police officer Julian Becerra died due to injuries he sustained after falling from a bridge on February 2, while he was on duty.
According to 9News, Julian Becerra fell from the bridge while on duty in Fountain, Colorado. He was assisting the Colorado Department of Corrections Parole Unit after they received reports of a carjacking suspect with existing warrants out for his arrest.
After identifying the suspect near Citadel Mall in Colorado Springs, Julian Becerra and other officers pursued him and two other suspects in an extended car chase. Becerra was among the officers who followed the suspect onto a bridge. Subsequently, he fell off and was severely injured, before being airlifted to a local hospital in critical condition.
Nine days later, Becerra succumbed to his injuries. The New York Post reported that he is survived by his wife and daughter.
Julian Becerra had almost 5 years of experience as a K9 officer of the Fountain Police Department
As per CBS, at the time of the chase that led to Becerra's death, he was a K9 officer with four and a half years of experience with the Fountain Police Department.
According to the Fountain Police Department, after Becerra and fellow officers identified the car jacking suspects and their accomplices in a stolen vehicle near the Citadel Mall, they attempted to escape after attempting to hijack another car near Love's Travel Plaza.
The officers tracked the suspects to the interstate 25, where they partially disabled the vehicle. However, one of the suspects attempted to escape by jumping off a bridge. In his efforts to stop the felon, Becerra accidentally fell off the 30 to 40 foot bridge himself.
The response to Becerra's death
In an official statement made on Saturday, the Fountain Police Department confirmed that Becerra had died after nine days on life support.
The statement read:
"We appreciate the public's outpouring of support over the past week for Officer Becerra, his family and the Fountain Police Department."
The officer's brother-in-law, David Alderman, said that the officer had been an exemplary family man.
Alderman said:
"Having two daughters of my own, I've actually gotten to learn a lot from him as far as being a dad."
During a Sunday Press relese, Fountain Mayor Sharon Thompson addressed Becerra's death.
Thompson said:
"This is a tough time for our city, and I want all of our police officers and first responders to know we are standing with them."
She continued:
"The suspects that Officer Becerra was pursuing the night he was gravely injured were felons with multiple active warrants for their arrest. They should never have been out on the street in the first place."
KKTV reported that Julian Becerra's family has chosen not to make a public statement.
