Denver Police Officer Christopher Thomas allegedly hit 102 mph while fleeing a Colorado State Patrol trooper on Highway 58 in Jefferson County on October 24, then accelerated past 100 mph again on Interstate 70 before the trooper ended pursuit due to traffic.
Thomas, 29, wasn’t arrested until December 6—six weeks later—after investigators used cell phone location data to place him at pursuit locations traveling at speeds consistent with the chase. He faces felony vehicular eluding creating substantial risk of bodily injury and misdemeanor reckless endangerment.
The trooper clocked Thomas’s Dodge Ram at 102 mph in a 65 mph zone at 11:27 PM. When the trooper caught up on I-70 and attempted a stop, Thomas was traveling 90 mph but “accelerated aggressively” back over 100 mph upon noticing the patrol car behind him.
CSP traced the vehicle to Thomas through a partial plate. When troopers arrived at his home that same night, Thomas allegedly fled again, this time losing the pursuing officers on residential streets.
Thomas joined Denver Police in 2021 and worked District 1 patrol. Denver Police suspended him without pay only after his December arrest, suggesting he remained on duty during the six-week investigation. His attorney declined comment.
Under Colorado law, Class 5 felony vehicular eluding carries one to three years in prison and fines up to $100,000. The statute doubles minimum fines because legislators view the offense as a serious public safety threat. If convicted, Thomas loses his ability to work as a Colorado law enforcement officer.
The case raises accountability questions for sworn officers who violate the laws they’re empowered to enforce. Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters received nine years in prison for election record tampering—a conviction that involved no high-speed chases, no fleeing from law enforcement, and no substantial risk of bodily injury to the public.
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