Colorado State Patrol Releases Video of Officer Ambush on US 36

A Colorado State Patrol corporal was likely a “target of opportunity” when he was ambushed and shot while parked along U.S. 36 near Westminster earlier this month, agency officials said Monday.

State Patrol leaders released body camera footage of the moments before and after Cpl. Tye Simcox was shot while parked between two concrete barriers in the median of the freeway and doing paperwork on Sept. 7.

Investigators still don’t know why Victor Anthony De Santiago, 32, slowed down and started shooting at Simcox from his truck, Col. Matthew Packard, the agency’s chief, said at a news conference.

“If I were pressed today, I would tell you that I believe, based on current information, that Cpl. Simcox was a target of opportunity,” Packard said. “I believe the shooter saw a patrol car and that’s the one he decided to shoot at.”

Simcox was shot in the right forearm and quickly got out of his patrol car. He grabbed a rifle from the front seat and returned fire. The camera footage shows he fatally wounded De Santiago.

The corporal was taken to Denver Health by an attending officer and is expected to make a full recovery.

“I am incredibly blessed to be alive and am so grateful for everyone’s support and prayers,” Simcox said in a statement released Monday by the State Patrol.

Santiago, a Thornton resident with an extensive criminal history in Colorado and California, had prior gang ties, Packard said. None of those ties were to international gangs, he added.

Packard would not say which gang De Santiago was affiliated with, adding that it was not clear whether he was part of a gang at the time of the shooting.

“The State Patrol is very interested in understanding why this happened,” Packard said. “We need to make sure we understand if Cpl. Simcox poses a specific threat to him or members of this organization.”

Limited footage of the shooting is available because Simcox’s camera fell to the ground during the incident and the front-facing camera on his car’s dashboard was damaged within seconds of the shooting, Packard said.

The footage shows a bystander stopping to help Simcox shortly after the shooting began, appearing to help him tighten a tourniquet around his arm.

The first officer on the scene was an officer trained by Simcox, Packard said. Together, they approached De Santiago and handcuffed him. De Santiago lay motionless on the ground next to his truck.

The footage shows that an off-duty police officer also remained at the scene and approached De Santiago with his weapon drawn.

According to the footage, Westminster police arrived seconds after the officer had handcuffed De Santiago and while he was checking Simcox for other injuries.