Neighbor Calls Man Killed By Thornton Police A 'Nice, Hardworking Man'
THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4)- Police in Thornton have released the identity of a man killed in an officer-involved shooting on Friday night.
The shooting happened about 7:29 p.m. in the 2600 block of E. 96th Place.
Officers were called to the home on reports that a man at the home was threatening others with a baseball bat.
"When officers arrived they contacted the subject on the front porch. He began to advance on the officers. They observed that he was armed with a knife and a bat, one in each hand. As he approached the officers they gave numerous commands and he continued to approach at the officers at which time one of the officers deployed his stun gun. That was ineffective. That's was when the second officer fired his weapon," said Thornton Police Information Officer Matt Barnes.
The man, identified as Jaime Ceballos, 32, was rushed to the hospital where he died a short time later.
"In these types of situations when you encounter deadly force, in this case being a bat and a knife, you always deploy if you can a less lethal option and then a secondary officer would deploy a lethal option. In this case his duty weapon," said Barnes.
Police said Ceballos' live-in girlfriend called police saying he was drunk and threatening people with a bat. Neighbors said he was a nice person who loved his children.
"I watched him die," neighbor Rhonda Ortez said. "I know this seems crazy, but I was running to him … and they told me get the F back."
Police said they're familiar with Ceballos' home because they've been called there three times this year for domestic violence calls, but Ceballos was never arrested.
"He was a nice man, a hardworking man," Ortez said.
The Adams County Critical Incident Team has now taken over the case. One officer is on paid administrative leave until the investigation is finished.
