Body Camera Footage Of Officer-Involved Shooting Released
LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4) - Authorities released officer body camera footage on Wednesday of a suspect who was shot by a Douglas County sheriff's deputy.
"Any officer that hears 'Shots fired, shots fired,' it's not what you want to hear across your radio," said Douglas County Deputy Steve Johnson. "The body camera definitely shows what the deputy encounters."
Last Friday evening a Douglas County deputy, 6-year veteran Brad Proulx, saw what appeared to be a stranded motorist in a white GMC SUV near County Line Road and Santa Fe Drive. He got out of his cruiser to help.
"As he approached the vehicle, the occupant of the vehicle got out of the vehicle with a rifle and confronted the deputy," said Cmdr. Trent Cooper with the Littleton Police Department.
Cooper says the weapon was a military style semi-automatic rifle. The deputy gave verbal commands to drop the weapon, which were ignored. Fearing for his life the officer fired, striking the suspect in the arm.
"He was essentially attacked and felt his life was in danger and responded the way he was trained to do," said Cooper.
The suspect, identified as Deyon Marcus Rivas-Maestas, 26, was shot once in the arm. He was released from the hospital Wednesday, and booked into the Douglas County jail for first-degree assault of a peace officer. His bond is set at $50,000.
"This is what deputies and police officers can encounter every single day, and in this case, when they think that they're stopping to help a motorist get their vehicle running again and get on their way," Johnson said.
Proulx is on paid administrative leave as the 18th Judicial Critical Incident Team reviews the use of force.
Criminal records indicate Rivas-Maestas has two prior misdemeanor charges. His rifle was not loaded during the officer-involved shooting.
Andrea Flores is a reporter for CBS4. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter @AndreaFloresTV.
