Mountain View Police Officer Won't Face Charges For Shooting, Killing Suspect
DENVER (CBS4) - Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey has decided not to file charges against a Mountain View police officer who shot and killed a suspect in mid-December.
Enrique Gonzalez died in the hospital following the officer-involved shooting at approximately 10:30 p.m. last Dec. 13.
Officer Andrew Fulton was conducting a traffic stop near 44th Avenue and Yates Street and told Gonzalez to pull his car over. Police said Gonzalez got out with a shotgun and started firing at the officer. Fulton shot back and struck the suspect.
Fulton was not injured.
As standard protocol, Fulton was placed on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Mountain View is a small community located between Denver and Wheat Ridge. According to Officer Kirk Firko with Mountain View police, it's common for their officers to leave their jurisdiction.
"Mountain View borders the City and County of Denver at Sheridan (Boulevard). It's not uncommon for a Mountain View police officer to cross that jurisdictional boarder in pursuit of a violator so to speak," Firko said.
The Denver Police Department managed the investigation of the shooting.
"The facts indicate that Officer Andrew Fulton of the Mountain View Police Department shot Mr. Gonzalez in self-defense when Mr. Gonzalez aimed a loaded shotgun at him. Under these circumstances, the use of deadly physical force by Officer Fulton was legally justified under Colorado law," Morrissey said in the letter to Mountain View Police Department Chief of Police Mark Toth.
