DENVER (CBS4)- Witnesses who watched as a vehicle ran into Denver police bicycle patrol officers during a protest by East High School students Wednesday afternoon, say they don't believe it was an accident.
Officer John Adsit was in surgery for several hours at Denver Health Medical Center and remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition Wednesday night. He suffered critical injuries after being hit. Adsit is a bike officer in the department's District 6.
Adsit and three others were hurt while escorting students protesting the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.
The 500 students marching down Colfax Avenue were being escorted by Denver Police officers on bicycles who were monitoring traffic during the demonstration.
At the intersection of Colfax and High Street a black Mercedes shot forward, striking four officers.
'A split second, it went from him sitting at a dead stop, the cops pulling up and it wasn't a slow pull out, he gunned it and went straight at 'em,' said witness Doug Action.
'All of a sudden the black Mercedes just takes off full throttle towards the police officers and runs them over,' said witness Luis Marin.
RELATED: East High Students Walk Out Of Class To Protest Ferguson Decision
Action and his co-worker Marin were in traffic waiting for the crowd to pass. They say the driver of the Mercedes was honking and cheering on the protesters, that's when the officers passed in front of the car.
Of the four officers struck, Adsit was caught underneath the car and then run over.
'About 75 to 100 feet that he got dragged with his bicycle,' said Marin.
Both Marin and Action say despite initial reports the driver suffered a medical condition while behind the wheel, they aren't convinced that's the case.
'I'm not sure what happened to him, I'm not sure if there was a medical condition involved but to me it seemed like it was done on purpose,' said Marin.
Police are still investigating the incident.
The students left class at approximately 10 a.m. and walked through downtown Denver. They gathered at the Capitol to protest a grand jury's decision to not indict police officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson.
It was estimated that nearly 1,000 people had gathered near the Capitol at 11:30 a.m. The students then walked from the Capitol and over Denver's City and County Building and then to the 16th Street Mall.
Posted by Unknown on Thursday, December 4, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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