Denver police shot and killed a robbery suspect Wednesday during a chase on Capitol Hill as the suspect was turning with a gun in his hand to face police, authorities say.
“He had a gun in his right hand, and he turned to the right,” police spokeswoman Virginia Lopez said. “It appears at this point it was a justified shooting.”
Just after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, police said, Isstaka Nomoko flagged down two officers on East Colfax Avenue near Logan Street, told them that he had just been robbed and pointed at the suspect, Harrison Owens, 31.
Cpl. Michael Wyatt and his partner chased Owens around the corner of Colfax businesses just as Nomoko yelled, “He’s got a gun,” Lopez said.
Wyatt shot Owens, whose criminal record includes multiple convictions for theft and drug dealing, on the “side of the shoulder blade,” consistent with witness accounts that Owens was turning, she said.
Nomoko was severely beaten during the robbery, Lopez said. Police arrested two men and a woman, Owens’ alleged accomplices, for investigation of robbery and assault, Lopez said.
The shooting happened less than a block from the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, where the funeral was held 12 days ago for officer Donald “Donnie” Young, who was shot while acting as security at a baptismal party.
Owens’ family members said they will speak with a lawyer about the shooting.
“The police killed my boy,” said his hysterical mother, Dee Dixon, while sobbing Wednesday morning in a parking lot overlooking the state Capitol. A bloodstain marked the spot where her son was shot. “They get away with everything. They think they’re God. They didn’t have to kill him.”
A woman who goes by the nickname “Black” said she was with Owens at a Colfax bar Tuesday night. She said that when they were leaving the bar, Owens got into a fight with another man. The same man flagged police down, she said.
Black said Owens didn’t have a gun and didn’t commit robbery.
Juneka Whitley, Owens’ sister, said the police description of the shooting doesn’t make sense to her.
Her brother wouldn’t be reaching for a gun while trying to run, she said.
She said her brother always wore baggy pants and must hold them up as he runs.
Camille Harrell, a friend of Owens’, also questioned the police version of the shooting.
“If he was pointing a gun at them, then why was he shot in the back?” Harrell asked.
Whitley said her brother was not dangerous.
“I know my brother,” Whitley said. “He is not going to shoot at police.”
Owens, who owned a landscaping business, had three children, Whitley said.
“He could draw,” Dixon said. “He could sing. He took care of everybody.”
Owens’ aunt, Linda Washington, said her nephew was a good father.
“They won’t see their daddy anymore,” Washington said. “He’s gone.”
Court documents say Owens’ record includes felony convictions for theft in 1995 and 1998, for false imprisonment in 1997 and for drug dealing in 1997 and 1998. He also had served a five-year prison sentence.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
