Denver Blue Bloods: Son of Retired DPD Division Chief Receives Purple Heart for Heroic Actions

It was just a few days before Christmas when Denver Police Sergeant Kyle Saunier was dispatched to Union Station, along with several other cops, to deal with an individual who was armed with scissors and two pit bulls – and acting irrationally.

To make matters worse, the man was “boxed into the outside of an elevator, and there were limited options for officers to approach,” said DPD Commander Glenn West, while speaking about Saunier and the other officers at a July 24 Denver Police Foundation award ceremony honoring heroic acts.

And then there was the risk of harming civilians in the area if the officers opened fire or used non-lethal measures such as pepper spray or rubber bullets.

“Officers were in a tactically difficult situation,” West noted.

“It took about two hours of negotiating,” Saunier tells Westword. “We had a negotiator there, we had our mental health clinician there. We tried to do everything we could. The problem was where he was barricaded was next to an elevator.”

Saunier and his fellow officers were told that the elevator had been shut off and wasn’t working. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case,” he recalls. “Doors open – now we know he’s going to get out. He’s going to have access to Union Station. It’s Christmastime. There’s people everywhere. And we can’t have that.”

What the third-generation cop wound up doing next earned him two of the Denver Police Foundation’s highest honors: the Superior Tactics and Response Award, aka STAR Award, for his actions during the December incident, and a Purple Heart for being injured in the line of duty that day. He was recognized by the foundation at a ceremony at the Curtis hotel, along with several other officers who took part in the arrest efforts.

In attendance was Saunier’s father, retired DPD Division Chief Ron Saunier – a legend in his own right, with over three decades on the force and multiple shout-outs from police officials that afternoon, including one from Denver Police Department Chief Ron Thomas to start the awards ceremony and glowing praise for him afterward.

“Well, it’s a tremendous legacy,” Thomas says of the Saunier family. “Retired Division Chief Saunier was an integral part of our department – a thirty-plus-year veteran. … I knew he had a son on the job, and I’ve actually become very familiar with his son over time, so certainly glad that we were able to award him. Certainly, it’s tragic that he had a pretty significant injury, but I think that being able to recognize his service and his sacrifice is important.”

Kyle Saunier and the other cops involved in the Union Station incident – identified as Detective John Brinkers, Officer Nicholas Tetreault, Officer Harrison Sanchez and Officer Cory Frahm – were watching negotiators try to talk down the armed subject outside the elevator when he forced their hand.

“He suddenly pushed the elevator button and the elevator doors opened,” recounted West. “The subject now had an opportunity to escape, and the officers determined the best course of action would be to storm the subject with a shield. The officers knew this tactic was risky because it would be in striking range of the scissors, but with no other good options, they then pressed forward in a line. The subject struck officers violently with the scissors.”

According to Saunier, Tetreault was able to pin the individual up against the wall, “but this guy had experience,” he says, adding that he “managed to ride the shield, and what I saw was the scissors come down and hit Tetreault in the neck. I thought he was dead – that I had just watched one of my officers die. He hit him twice again, and then time slowed down. My brain was saying, ‘Kyle, get in there. Get in there right now.’ My legs felt like they were in slow motion.”

As Saunier was attempting to get to the armed man, he swung back around and stabbed Sanchez in the side. “I thought I watched another officer die,” Saunier recalls. “That’s all I thought, was that two of my guys were dead.”

Saunier was able to stop the mayhem by rushing in and disarming the individual with his bare hands.

“When I jumped in there, I stopped it,” Saunier says. “Unfortunately, I stopped it by having the scissors go through my hand. They went in between my pinky, straight up into [his hand] and all the way up. It severed my ulnar nerve and some tendons, so I don’t have any feeling, and everything’s cold.”

The stabbing, however, wasn’t what earned Saunier a lengthy hospital stay. “It was the infection,” he says.

“I was in the hospital for five days,” he remembers. “I’m super grateful for Denver Health and I love them, but I do not recommend spending Christmas at Denver Health. There are no Christmas songs about being in the hospital.”

Ron Saunier – who retired in 2021 after having served as commander of DPD’s most active police district, District 6 – racked up some incredible achievements and honorable feats over his years with the DPD, but a Purple Heart was not one of them. “To get this, I mean, the Purple Heart’s always a tough one,” he tells Westword. “And I’m extremely proud of him.”

Ron Saunier says that he and his son come from “a family line of law enforcement” that’s seen at least three generations don a badge. “My dad was a lieutenant, retired as a lieutenant with the Adams County Sheriff’s Department,” he explains.

Becoming a cop seemed to always be written in the stars for Kyle, who recalls how his father’s legacy and everyday dealings with residents really resonated with him as a kid. “It was seeing him in his uniform, having a cop car – especially the Denver cop car, because that was the place to be,” he says. “That was a driving force, and then it was just him helping people. The random acts of kindness I would see. There are times where I remember he’d have the cop car and I’d get to be with him, and it was like stopping and handing out old baseball cards. Or he’d just stop and buy someone water or a meal. Just those little things that you can do to really make an impact. That’s something I continue to do today.”

With tears welling up in his eyes, the elder Saunier talked at the ceremony about being a role model for his son – but more important, his biggest fan. 

“He’s got all the smarts out there and takes care of business,” the elder Saunier says. “When he made his mind up to get into law enforcement, he went through and put his mind to it. He was very dedicated. And when he sets his mind to something, he pushes through to get it done.”

In addition to his recent accomplishments, Kyle Saunier also garnered praise and the attention of his higher-ups in 2017 after saving the life of a man who suffered a heart attack. “SAUNIER SAVES LIVES,” reads a DPD Facebook post describing what happened.

“Officer Saunier responded to the 5000 block of W. Colfax Avenue to cover emergency medical technicians,” the post explains. “The officers were first on scene and saw a male down on the ground; the man had no pulse and was not breathing. There was a woman attempting CPR, but it was clear to the officers she was not well-versed in the practice. Officer Saunier took over…produced a pulse and he kept it going, while also providing oxygen until paramedics arrived.”

According to the DPD, “Paramedics made it clear that if it weren’t for Officer Saunier’s efforts, the man would have died.”

Asked about how his legacy played a role in his son’s life, Ron Saunier quickly turned the spotlight back on Kyle: “This day is about Kyle, not about me. But it’s nice to have Chief Thomas recognize me and some of the foundation members. It kind of shows you, you do make an impact after 36 years here and the foundation side of stuff. I was their first liaison.”

Seeing his father tear up got Kyle’s emotions going, too. “Seeing him always hurts me, like in a good way,” he says. “Because he’s definitely a very stoic individual, as we’re aware. So to see him get choked up is amazing.”

That, coupled with being honored by the Denver Police Foundation with his brothers in blue, was the ultimate reward for Kyle Saunier.

“The biggest takeaway from all this is that my guys are out there every day doing the best they can, and this is a perfect example,” he concludes. “It’s something that we do with every call – go above and beyond – and that’s consistent. I see it every day as a sergeant, and I’m so proud of it.”