Watch CBS News

Denver Mayor In Teen Shooting Death: 'Let's Make Sure We Have All The Facts'

DENVER (CBS4)- The Mayor of Denver wants to make sure the investigation moves forward without anyone jumping to conclusions in the shooting death of a teen who was driving a stolen car. The officers involved have also been identified.

Jessie Hernandez Newport shooting
Jessie Hernandez (credit: Facebook/CBS)

Jessie Hernandez was shot and killed about 6:30 a.m. on Monday when two Denver police officers responded to an alley near East 25th Avenue and Newport Street, where a stolen vehicle was spotted.

Authorities say the officers approached the car and Hernandez, 17, used the car to hit one of them in the leg.

"At that time, the officers fired several shots, striking the driver," explained Denver Police Chief Robert White.

The officers involved have been identified as Daniel Greene, a 16-year veteran and Gabriel Jordan, a 9-year veteran. Both are assigned as Patrol Officers in District 2 and are currently on administrative leave.

Jessie Hernandez
Jessie Hernandez (credit: Facebook)

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said no one should rush to judgement, "Let's make sure we have all the facts and make sure we do that for Jessica's family, for the police officers involved and for the entire community."

White also issued this statement on Wednesday afternoon, "Although we are still determining the facts of the incident, the Denver Police Department is committed to transparency and once the investigation is complete all information obtained during the investigation will be available for the public to review."

RELATED: More Jessie Hernandez Stories

The other girls in the car say they weren't threatening the officers, "We were backing up because a cop car was in front of us and we started backing up and he started shooting."

Hernandez's death is being examined by the Independent Monitor along with three other officer-involved shootings in the past seven months. Those include a Jan. 9 incident in Montbello when police fired on a suspect after an officer was struck by a car; in Commerce City in November 2014, a Denver police officer shot two people fleeing in a car; and the death of Ryan Ronquillo in July 2014 who died after officers opened fire as he struck an officer with his vehicle while trying to speed away from a funeral home.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.