The Denver Police Protective Association issued a statement today denouncing a lawsuit that claims Denver SWAT officers shot and killed 5-year-old Deion Santistevan and his 22-year-old father, Elias Santistevan, during a standoff a year ago.
A federal lawsuit filed Monday by Chanell Santistevan, the wife and mother of the two, accuses a SWAT officer of filing a single shot that killed the father and son.
The lawsuit does not say what evidence there is to support the allegation. Denver police officials maintain that the father shot his son and then committed suicide during the standoff. A coroner’s report shows the father and son both had contact wounds to the head.
“The death of Elias Santistevan and Deion Santistevan were a tragic ending to a difficult call for service to the public,” says a statement issued today by the police union. “The officers involved in the standoff and the investigation were not only traumatized from the incident but from the false allegations set forth by the lawsuit.”
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
