Denver DA Says Westminister Officers Who Shot And Killed Suspect Drew Lucero Were Legally Justified
(CBS4) - The Denver District Attorney's Office announced Monday Westminster police officers were legally justified when they shot and killed suspect Drew Lucero, 37, during a response in September.
On Sept. 3, officers responded to Lucero at a home in the 5300 block of Billings Street in the Montebello neighborhood of Denver. Lucero was wanted for attempted homicide and was also involved in a domestic violence situation.
Lucero exited the home when police responded and exchanged gunfire with responding officers, and he was shot and killed.
"Once Mr. Lucero exited the house, produced a weapon and fired it, it was impossible for these officers to apply nonviolent means prior to resorting to physical force," DA Beth McCann said in the press release. "Nonviolent means would have been ineffective in preventing an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death to these officers. In this perilous situation, these officers' decisions to shoot Mr. Lucero in defense of self and each other was justified under Colorado law."
At least four Westminster police officers were involved and were placed on administrative leave at the time. There will be no criminal charges filed against them.
Westminster police say the situation first started in September 20202 when they were called to 72nd Avenue and Raleigh Street for a disturbance call. They say a woman said she was shot by her ex-boyfriend who took off from the scene. Since then, detectives had been working on the case. On Sept. 2, the same victim called police saying the suspect went back to her home, threatened her and damaged property. Officers then responded to the home on Billings Street the next day when the shooting took place.
RELATED: DA MacCann's Decision Letter To Denver And Westminster Police Chiefs
DA McCann will present details about this officer-involved shooting and discuss her conclusions during a virtual community meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15. The public is invited to join this online meeting that will take place over Microsoft Teams.
