Aurora police shot and killed a man early Sunday at a East Colfax motel after they say he came at them with a knife and refused commands to drop it.
The shooting occurred in front of unit No. 33 at 3 a.m. in the Boll-E-Ana Motel parking lot, 12016 E. Colfax Ave.
Police were called to the motel by reports an armed man was on the property, said Aurora police spokesman Marcus Dudley.
Three officers confronted the man in the parking lot, told him to put the knife down and then shot him when he did not comply, Dudley said.
The name of the man was not revealed Sunday afternoon because police had not confirmed his identity.
The officers were not injured during the incident.
They were placed on administrative leave with pay – standard protocol in officer-involved shootings.
Occupants of the motel said they heard six to eight shots that sounded like firecrackers, but did not know anything about the man who was killed.
Walter Smith, who was staying with a friend at the motel, said he had seen the man just before the shooting while walking to a bus stop across the street.
The man was headed toward the motel, Smith said. He said he did not a knife.
Smith was on the opposite side of Colfax Avenue from the motel when the incident took place.
“I didn’t hear (the police) yell, they just walked up and started shooting,” Smith said. “The cops didn’t say ‘drop down’ or anything. I probably heard eight shots. I said to myself, ‘Whoever they are, they are dead.”‘
Smith questioned why police did not use a non-lethal device, such as a Taser, to subdue the man.
Dudley said using a Taser or other device was not an option because the man was coming at them quickly, according to the officers on the scene.
“You do what you have to do to neutralize events,” Dudley said. “There was no time to try other means.”
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or at fcardona@denverpost.com.
