Denver DA rules officers justified in August shooting
The Denver District Attorney concluded that three Denver Police Department officers who shot a man in August used a justifiable amount of force.
The shooting occurred at about 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 25 in a parking lot at 1233 W. Alameda Ave., according to a report by DA John Walsh that was released Wednesday.
911 callers reported a man, identified as Allan Wayne Scott, 62, was waving a pistol around and pointing it at oncoming traffic. Responding officers, identified in the report as Cpl. Valentin Kerchev, as well as Officers Jonathan Hayes and Randall Wells, ordered Scott to drop the gun, but he turned to the officers and raised the gun at them.
Kerchev fired eight shots at Scott, while Hayes fired one shot. Scott then hid behind a shopping cart, leading to a prolonged standoff. Wells, who was watching the scene with a rifle, fired once after he saw Scott’s finger slip onto the trigger of the pistol.
Scott sustained two gunshot wounds, one to the cheek and one to the right ear. He released the gun after being shot, and police learned the gun was a BB gun that resembled a 9mm handgun. The BB gun was not loaded and did not contain a CO2 cartridge.
Scott survived the shooting and was charged with one count of felony menacing.
The DA’s office previously declined to file charges against the officers involved in the shooting. The report, sent to DPD Chief Ron Thomas on Tuesday, fully exonerates the officers, writing that officers believed they were in danger of immediate physical harm due to the officers’ belief that Scott was armed with a 9mm handgun.
“While Scott may have mental health issues that contributed to his behavior, the officers had no way to know with any certainty what was motivating Scott, or whether he has mental health issues,” Walsh wrote in the letter. “After reviewing the evidence in this case, I find that a reasonable police officer faced with this situation would reasonably believe Scott was an imminent deadly threat, and that using physical force, even deadly physical force, was necessary to defend against the threat.”