Colorado State Patrol releases video, timeline of shooting after trooper was "ambushed" on highway
The Colorado State Patrol released a timeline of events during a highway shootout in which CSP officials say a trooper was "ambushed" before returning fire and killing the suspect. Video, taken from several angles, shows the shooting spanned less than a minute.
The shooting happened on Sept. 7 on Highway 36, just west of Federal Boulevard in Westminster, a Denver suburb. Colorado State Patrol Cpl. Tye Simcox was sitting in his cruiser in the center median filling out paperwork, CSP officials say, when a man -- later identified as Victor Anthony De Santiago, 32, originally from California -- drove up to Simcox's truck and began shooting into it.
De Santiago pulled over in front of Simcox, got out and continued firing a handgun at the trooper, officials say.
Simcox was shot in the arm, retrieved a patrol rifle from his truck and shot De Santiago, killing him.
On Monday, CSP showed dashcam and bodyworn camera video to members of the media as Col. Matthew Packard, chief of the agency, explained a timeline of events.
"There's no question in my mind that he was ambushed," he said Monday. "It's really important for us to figure out why that happened so we can learn from it."
Packard and timestamps on the video reveal the following timeline:
- 1:16:14 p.m. - De Santiago fires the first shots at Simcox. One of those rounds went through the windshield and blew out Simcox's rear driver's side window.
- 1:16:18 - Simcox is seen exiting his truck and seeking cover behind it
- 1:16:22 - Simcox can be heard over another trooper's radio saying "shots fired, I'm hit!"
- 1:16:26 - Simcox returns to the cabin of his truck to retrieve a rifle
- 1:16:37 - Simcox moves back to the rear of his truck as he loads the rifle
- 1:16:59 - Simcox takes cover at the back passenger side of his truck and starts shooting at De Santiago. He appeared to have fired 10 rounds from that patrol rifle.
- 1:17:27 - While some of the audio is garbled, Simcox can be heard saying he was shot in the arm
- 1:18:54 - Simcox shouts into his radio "I'm shot, I'm shot!"
- 1:19:10 - Simcox, aided by a motorist, applies a tourniquet to his arm
- 1:19:48 - A second trooper arrives at the scene
- 1:20:05 - Simcox, holding his sidearm in his left hand with his right arm injured, and the second trooper approach De Santiago's truck. A handgun is seen on the shoulder of the road next to his body.
- Around 1:20:28 - An off-duty officer joins the troopers at the scene
- 1:20:44 - The second trooper handcuffs De Santiago
- 1:21:10 - Westminster police officers arrive at the scene as the second trooper helps Simcox reholster his gun and remove his shirt and bulletproof vest to check for additional injuries
- 1:26:10 - The second trooper takes Simcox to Denver Health in his cruiser
Dashcam and bodyworn camera video from the shooting can be viewed here: (CONTAINS AUDIO AND VISUALS THAT COULD BE DISTURBING TO SOME VIEWERS)
A U.S. citizen born in California, De Santiago has an "extensive Colorado criminal history, beginning as a juvenile," CSP said in a previous statement.
Court records in Colorado show arrests for assault, domestic violence, DUI and drug-related charges. He pleaded guilty to attempted assault on a peace officer in 2022 and was released to community corrections earlier this year.
The day of the shooting, Packard said, "our Colorado State trooper responded appropriately and swiftly and courageously and he won today. And by winning, not only did he save his own life, but he saved the rest of this community from someone that clearly was intending to do evil."
Packard was asked on Monday about whether the incident would lead to any protocol changes.
"I don't know yet all the factors that played into this, but I assure you that part of our internal review will be to look at patrol cars, look at training, is there something we can do differently to protect from this specific scenario," he said.
