Pursuit Leads To Shooting Death Of Suspect By Denver And Adams County Law Officers
DENVER (CBS4) - Personnel from both the Denver Police Department and the Adams County Sheriff's Office shot and killed a man they say lead them on a chase which started in Adams County early Saturday morning. Adams County Sheriff's deputies tried to stop a white Ford SUV near 58th Avenue and Broadway for an unspecified traffic violation.
A Denver PD spokesman told CBS4 that the suspect refused to stop and began shooting at ACSO deputies while driving toward Denver. Deputies continued to chase the vehicle into Denver's jurisdiction.
Denver police then joined the pursuit, and both agencies used multiple "forced stop methods," including a pit maneuver, to stop the driver. A pit maneuver ultimately caused the vehicle to stop near Meade Street and Conejos Place - north of West Colfax Avenue.
Alan Castro says he wasn't surprised when he heard sirens outside of his Sloans Lake apartment.
"Because we live right here on Colfax, so it's pretty active around here."
He was already awake when the commotion drove into his neighborhood.
"I was up at like four in the morning already because I just had my son like a couple days ago," he said.
The driver and a female passenger got out of the SUV and ran, police say. They were found in a backyard on Meade St. The driver, described only as a man, held a weapon in a "threatening manner," they added.
Officers told him to drop the weapon, but he did not do so. Two Denver police officers and three Adams County Sheriff's deputies shot the suspect. It's not currently clear how many shots in total were fired, nor how many times the man was shot.
"All of a sudden you just heard like the first pop, like just one single pop then like two seconds later you heard the rest of the shots," said Castro.
The suspect later died. The woman was not injured, police say, and investigators are interviewing her and other witnesses.
No officers were hurt.
Castro says it's just another thing that has made this year tragically memorable for him.
"Be careful out there. 2020 is crazy."
Roads in the area were closed as investigators collect evidence, such as shell casings.
This is the second shooting in which Denver police officers shot and killed a man this week.
Officers responded to West 10th Avenue and Inca Street on Sept. 9 after they received multiple 911 calls about a man threatening others with a handgun. The suspect, identified as Antonio Black Bear, was later shot and killed by police.
