Demoted Aurora firefighters say running cop off road was "prank," targeted cop says "someone tried to kill me"

CBS News

27-06-2025

Two Aurora firefighters demoted last month for running an Aurora police sergeant off the road in February explained that what they did was supposed to be a "prank." But the police officer who was the target of the "prank" said there was nothing funny about what the firefighters did.
"Someone tried to kill me," the Aurora sergeant said, also asking, "why would you want to use a fire truck to kill a cop?"
The new detailed accounts of the Feb. 25 incident involving Aurora firefighters John Casessa, Ryan Endly, and Aurora Police Sgt. Tony Spano were included in documents released Tuesday to CBS News Colorado by the City of Aurora. The city initially responded last week to a CBS Colorado Open Records Act request about the bizarre incident by claiming photos, videos, reports, and recordings of what happened were considered "personnel files" and could not be released.
But CBS Colorado, however, maintained the records had no relation to "personnel files" and should be made public. Aurora changed course on Tuesday and released most of what had been requested.
Screenshot of security camera footage from an Aurora water treatment facility shows the moments two Aurora firefighters allegedly shone the spotlights on their truck at an oncoming Aurora police cruiser, forcing the police officer off the road.
City of Aurora
The initial reporting was that a fire engine driven by Endly and carrying Casessa had forced a police SUV, driven by Spano, to take evasive action and veer off an access road around 7 p.m. on Feb. 25. Disciplinary orders obtained by CBS Colorado show both Casessa and Endly were demoted over the incident. They're both appealing those demotions.
The newly released fire department interviews with the firefighters and police sergeant shed more light on what happened and why it occurred. Aurora also released video of the incident, as part of CBS Colorado's records request.
"We were messing around and thought it was somebody we knew," Casessa said of the incident in an interview with a fire investigator. "It's not who I thought it was."
Video of the incident showed Spano heading westbound in a marked Aurora police SUV from Aurora's southeast yards, where gas pumps and other city facilities are located. The fire engine can be seen headed eastbound at about 31 mph on the access road, according to the video released Tuesday. The posted speed limit is 25 mph. Someone in the fire truck activates a spotlight aimed at the moving police SUV, then a second spotlight on the fire truck is turned on, pointing at the windshield of the police cruiser. The fire engine appears to veer into Spano's lane, heading straight for him, causing him to take evasive action and run off the road to avoid a collision. Aurora officials say nobody was hurt and there was no damage to the police SUV.
Casessa told an investigator that what happened was "horseplay" and "hazing" that went wrong. "I'm probably the most responsible person," Casessa said. "I screwed up. I fully own this. I accept that, I know that," he said during his interview.
In their report, a fire administrator wrote, Casessa "did not recognize the seriousness of the incident, and there was no indication that he understood the danger (Spano) faced when he was driven off the road."
Endly, who was driving the fire engine, "accepted responsibility for his unprofessional and potentially dangerous acts," according to the fire department investigation. He said he was embarrassed and sorry for his actions. Endly told an investigator, "he impulsively steered toward oncoming headlights, later realizing that the vehicle was a police officer's vehicle." Endly described his actions as a "foolish and regrettable mistake rather than an act of malice." Endly also described what happened as "horseplay" and poor judgment.
Aurora Fire Rescue Lt. John Casessa, left, and Engineer Ryan Endly pose for an undated photo after receiving an award for saving a man's life.
Aurora Fire Rescue
But in an interview with fire department officials, the officer described what happened as "clearly an intentional act." He stated that "he could not understand why someone would intentionally take such action unless they were trying to harm or kill him. Like why would you want to use a fire truck to kill a cop?" asked Spano, who declined multiple requests for an interview from CBS Colorado.
According to the fire department interview, Spano asked months ago if the city intended to press charges against the driver of the truck and "indicated that he planned to contact the District Attorney personally to pursue the charges."
But neither the Aurora Police Department nor the Aurora Fire Department sought a review by the district attorney to see if there was probable cause for criminal charges. Eric Ross, a spokesperson for the 18th Judicial District, said, "at this time, our office has not received a case filing or criminal case report for review to determine whether probable cause exists for an arrest. We will actively review any information a law enforcement agency presents to us."
Tuesday afternoon, CBS News asked a spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department why they didn't ask the District Attorney's Office to review the case. By Thursday afternoon, the police department had not responded to that inquiry.
Aurora Fire Chief Alec Oughton said he and his leadership team were "alarmed" by what his firefighters did, but he said he could not answer any other questions due to the firefighters' ongoing appeals. In a written statement, he said he stood by his decision to demote the two firefighters to the rank of "Firefighter Medic."
You can read both investigative reports, which were redacted by the Aurora Fire Department below: