In the winter of 2015, a 35-year-old man named Phillip Munoz, a man with a lengthy criminal history, found himself the subject of an intensive manhunt. Law enforcement, including the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force and local police, were actively seeking him for a number of violent offenses. Warrants for his arrest were outstanding, one of which was for the shooting of his girlfriend in the chest the previous month, an event witnessed by her teenage son.
Munoz was considered armed and dangerous, with a criminal past that included kidnapping, assault, and burglary.
On December 2, 2015, the effort to apprehend Munoz came to a dramatic and violent end in a Denver neighborhood near West 26th Avenue and Newton Street. Officers, who had been tracking him, spotted Munoz getting into a car. When they moved in to make the arrest, he attempted to flee, leading to a brief but chaotic chase. Munoz's escape was cut short when he crashed the vehicle into a gas meter, causing it to ignite.
What followed was a tense and fatal confrontation. After exiting the wrecked car, Munoz engaged in a shootout with the officers. In the exchange of gunfire, Denver Police Technician John Ruddy was struck in the leg. Phillip Munoz was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy later revealed he had been shot nine times and had alcohol, amphetamine, and methamphetamine in his system.
The investigation into the shooting was conducted by the Denver District Attorney's Office. Several months later, in May 2016, the district attorney concluded that the officers involved were legally justified in their use of deadly force and would not face any criminal charges. The report also indicated that the bullet that wounded Officer Ruddy was likely fired by another officer, having first passed through Munoz.
