Lakewood – A multi-agency “shoot team” is investigating an officer-involved fatal shooting Tuesday morning in a quiet Lakewood townhouse neighborhood.
An unidentified man with a handgun confronted officers in the 3200 block of South Indiana Street and was shot at least once in an exchange of gunfire, said Lakewood police spokesman Steve Davis.
Police received a call shortly before 11 a.m. from a woman who said she and a man believed to be her boyfriend had been arguing for several hours and that he had a weapon, Davis said.
When two officers arrived, Davis said the man was getting out of his vehicle and he had “a handgun of some sort,” which he pointed at officers.
Davis said it is not known whether the officers or the man fired first, although both officers shot their guns and the man is believed to have shot at them.
The man was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The officers, who were not injured, were taken to headquarters to be interviewed. Davis said they were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.
Davis did not disclose their identities, but said they are experienced officers. The officers will be offered counseling, he said, adding that a shooting “has quite an emotional impact on officers who don’t like having to make that choice.”
The “shoot team,” comprising officers from area law-enforcement agencies, will submit a report to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office for a determination of whether there was an appropriate use of force.
Davis said the investigation will take at least a few weeks.
Since Dec. 30, Lakewood has had three officer-involved shootings. “It was probably 10 years before that when Lakewood had a fatal police shooting,” Davis said.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
