ARVADA, Colo. — A too-familiar feeling of sorrow hung over Arvada Monday morning as bouquet after bouquet of flowers stacked up on top of a cruiser outside the Arvada Police Department.
Police officers, city workers and Arvada residents visited the station to honor the life of Dillon Vakoff. The 27-year-old officer died in a shooting early in the morning of Sept. 11.
Vakoff's funeral, which is open to the public, will be held at Flatirons Community Church (355 W South Boulder Rd. in Lafayette) on Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. More information is available here.
The shooting occurred just before 2 a.m. on the 6700 block of West 51st Avenue, according to the police department. Vakoff, a three-year veteran of the department, and another officer had been called to respond to what police are calling “a chaotic scene with multiple people in the street.”
According to department officials, Vakoff and the other officer, who has not been named, “tried to separate several belligerent and uncooperative individuals when the suspect began to fire and shot a female victim.”
Officers exchanged fire with the suspect, but the suspect shot and killed Vakoff.
Police also shot the suspect, who is now in custody and is expected to survive. The female victim is also expected to recover.
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Sonny Thomas Almanza. He faces several charges including first degree murder of a police officer as well as two charges of child abuse.
“Dillon is an example of everything good you would want in a police officer,” the department wrote on Facebook. “He was training toward being a SWAT Officer, and without a doubt would have continued to have a positive impact on his community.”
Sunday night, the water tower in Olde Town Arvada was lit up blue in Vakoff's honor.
Vakoff was raised in the community he served; he graduated from Arvada’s Ralston Valley High School in 2012. Prior to becoming a police officer, Vakoff served in the United States Air Force for six years.
“My thoughts are with the family and friends of Arvada officer Dillon Michael Vakoff who was tragically killed in the line of duty while responding to a call,” Governor Jared Polis said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor this situation.”
This is the second time in the last 15 months that an officer was killed in the line of duty in Arvada. In June of last year, a gunman shot and killed Officer Gordon Beesley in a triple shooting in Olde Town Arvada.
"It unfortunately opens some not-too-old wounds," Arvada Mayor Marc Williams said of Vakoff’s death. "It's important to recognize that these officers put their lives in danger each and every day and we are so thankful for what they do."
