Aurora officer honored for saving teens from gunman

Aurora police officer Pedro “Pete” Rodriguez received the department’s highest honor Thursday for actions that saved a group of teenagers from another teen who was chasing and shooting at them.

The Medal of Valor has been given to only nine Aurora officers involved in three other heroic acts since 1994.

Rodriguez, a 12-year veteran of the Aurora force, received the award for intervening on Jan. 7, 2011, when he saw a subject shooting a revolver at a group of teenagers about 3:30 p.m. near Fifth Street and South Avenue, police said.

Some of the teens being chased and shot at told police Rodriguez saved their life.

Rodriguez had just finished his shift and was still in full uniform but driving his personal vehicle when he came upon the teen with a gun. Rodriguez’s 13-year-old daughter was in the car because he had just picked her up from school, so he told her to “get down,” then confronted the gunman.

Police said Rodriguez identified himself as an Aurora police officer and ordered the subject to drop his gun. The subject didn’t comply, but continued to run toward another teen, then turned toward Rodriguez and pointed the gun at the officer. Rodriguez fired, fatally wounding the subject, then radioed for medical assistance.

About three weeks after Rodriguez shot 15-year-old Erik Chavez of Aurora the officer’s actions were found legal and justifiable.

When Chief Greg Thomas presented the Medal of Valor to Rodriguez, he said taking a life is a last resort for police officers when forced into difficult decisions.

“Officer Rodriguez’s actions were indeed heroic in that he risked his own life to protect the lives of others,” Thomas said, according to a police news release. “The situation could have been worse with innocent lives lost were it not for his intervention.”