DA Says Officer-Involved Shooting Of Convicted Sex Offender Was Justified
DENVER (CBS4) - Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey has determined an officer-involved shooting that occurred in March to be justified.
John Thomas Clark, 42, was shot by officers in the parking lot of a Walmart located at 7800 East Smith Road on March 20. He was a week overdue for a sentencing hearing on a sex assault conviction, according to authorities.
Court documents show Aurora police charged Clark with eight counts of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 15 in 2005. He failed to appear Arapahoe County Court and a Denver police spokeswoman told CBS4 a tip led them to him.
Clark was shot in the shoulder area by Officer Armando Cruz and taken to the hospital.
An unknown number of shots were fired while police were in the midst of a struggle with Clark.
They said two officers approached him and he became confrontational. They used pepper spray on him before shots were fired.
Police said they received a report that Clark was possibly suicidal.
An officer driving to the scene was involved in an accident with another vehicle nearby. The officer and the other driver were taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
