An officer of the Aurora Police Department fatally shot a man on Saturday night after a traffic stop escalated into a confrontation, with events unfolding in the vicinity of East 6th Avenue and Billings Street around 7:30 p.m., KDVR reported. According to Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain, the officer was participating in a DUI saturation task force when they observed the suspect commit "some type of traffic violation." The suspect's attempt to flee resulted in a collision with at least two other vehicles.
Despite the officer's attempts to manage the situation, the suspect exited the vehicle and began moving towards the sidewalk, where witnesses described a handgun lying on the ground. The suspect, according to the reports, "appeared" to be walking toward the gun before turning around and advancing on the officer "in an aggressive posture," Chamberlain told 9News. During the exchange, while working alone, the officer was forced to back into the intersection, ultimately firing between one to three rounds.
First responders arrived at the scene shortly after, with firefighters pronouncing the suspect dead. The identity of the suspect has not been disclosed, but an investigation into the shooting is set to be incredibly thorough, Chamberlain promised, as per the statement provided to KDVR. Both the police internal affairs and the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team will take part in the probing of the fatal shooting.
As the confrontation unfolded, a possible witness at the scene claimed, in an interview with Denver7, that the suspect seemed to shout for others nearby to "get his gun" and made threatening statements before being shot by the officer. Following the incident, questions arose concerning the source of the handgun and the immediate aid provided to the suspect. "It doesn't appear that [aid] was allowed for based upon the actions of the individuals around and even based upon the actions of the suspect," Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain told Denver7. Potential evidence, including body-worn camera footage, Flock cameras from the area, and bystander videos, might offer additional insights into the deadly encounter.
