Video Shows Deadly Shooting At National Western Complex
DENVER (CBS4) - The City of Denver Manager of Safety's Office has released video of a deadly shooting during a motorcycle expo at the National Western Complex in January. Police have also released their final report on the investigation.
Derrick Duran, a Colorado corrections officer who is a member of the motorcycle club the Iron Order, allegedly fired his gun during the fight with The Mongols motorcycle club inside the National Western Stock Show Complex. Police announced last month that Duran will not face criminal charges because it was a matter of self-defense.
The motorcycle groups blame each other for instigating the violence.
Victor Mendoza, 46, was shot and killed during the Jan. 30 fight in which three others were shot and two others were stabbed.
The cellphone video, taken by an undercover officer, captures the moments before the shooting in which what sounds like two gun shots can be heard.
Members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club are seen running down the stairs.
The final report on the incident is about 200 pages long and goes into great detail the events leading up to, during and after the shooting. According to the report, the incident began with a verbal altercation between the Iron Order and Mongols.
Duran, a member of the Iron Order, was identified as firing first in the report. Then a Mongol fired back, grazing Duran. More gunshots were exchanged and there were stabbings.
Mendoza was shot in the chest and died at the hospital.
Also in the report are allegations by a member of the Mongols that police were responsible for the shooting, equating them with the Iron Order.
CBS4 Legal Analyst Karen Steinhauser said the district attorney would have had a tough case to present.
"They would have to disprove a claim that somebody was in imminent fear of their lives or serious bodily injury," Steinhauser said.
Duran claimed he was indeed in fear for his life. He said the Iron Order was badly outnumbered, Mongols fired first, but that's not what the investigation concluded. Police noted the Mongols would not cooperate.
A grand jury could have subpoenaed members of the Mongols to tell their side of the story, although they could still have refused under the threat of jail.
