Jeffco deputy recovering after being dragged by truck

JEFFERSON COUNTY – A Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigator seriously injured in a vehicular assault was identified Thursday as veteran deputy Art Peterson, 52.

Peterson was injured Wednesday while trying to apprehend two suspects in a pickup truck that had been reported stolen earlier in the day. He was in serious condition at Swedish Hospital, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman said Thursday.

The injured deputy was hit and dragged by the truck at the intersection of South Santa Fe Drive and West Dartmouth Avenue in Englewood.

Englewood police are investigating the incident.

As he was being dragged by the truck, Peterson managed to fire his handgun, striking the driver in the back. The suspect is in a Denver hospital wounds described as serious, but not life threatening.

A passenger in the pickup, which ran up an embankment before stopping, was arrested. Neither suspect has been identified.

Peterson, a Jeffco deputy since 1977, was assigned to the recently formed Jefferson County Regional Auto Theft Task Force. The task force is staffed by the law enforcement agencies in the county.

Officers were tracking the stolen Ford pickup, which was equipped with a tracking device, allowing police to determine its location, Shires said.

 Peterson has shown some progress since he was hospitalized, according to Shires.

“His immediate family, (including) the entire law enforcement community, are encouraged by the improvements he has made in such a short time,” Shires said.