Police surrounded the Albertsons store at 323 S. Broadway with guns drawn in response to a possible robbery attempt around 9 p.m. Friday.
The standoff, however, turned up no robbers and no evidence of a legitimate threat after Denver Metro SWAT members searched patrons and the store for weapons, said Denver Police detective John White.
The episode began when the store’s manager recieved a phone call demanding that he put an unspecified amount of money in a bag and deliver it to a car in the parking lot. The caller said he had an accomplice inside the store who was armed and would begin shooting if the manager did not comply, but no car ever arrived.
Early in the incident, police were treating it as a legitimate robbery with dozens of officers surrounding the store.
Traffic was impacted in the area as police blocked both South Broadway and eastbound East Alameda Avenue for several blocks.
