A man who was shot and killed by a Denver police officer early Wednesday threatened the officer and pretended he was armed with a gun, police said.
Jason T. Gomez, 33, of Denver was pronounced dead at Denver Health Medical Center. He died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Denver Coroner’s Office.
The shooting happened about 2 a.m. near West Ada Place and South Hazel Court, police said.
Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said the officer, who has not been named, told investigators that the man he was chasing shouted threats and then posed as if he were pointing a gun.
“He verbally threatened the officer and acted as if he was armed with a gun,” Jackson said.
Investigators verified the officer’s story with a least one “independent witness,” Jackson said.
Jackson did not have details on exactly what Gomez shouted at the officer.
Police have not found a suspect gun.
The incident started when the officer, a seven-year veteran, tried to stop a car because it was being driven erratically, Jackson said.
The driver eluded the officer but the policeman spotted the car a short time later parked in a driveway, Jackson said.
When the officer approached the car on foot, the driver jumped from the car and ran. The officer chased him on foot, Jackson said.
Gomez had a long arrest record, according to a Colorado Bureau of Investigation database search, including at least three felony convictions resulting in prison sentences.
His most recent prison sentence was for assault, burglary, vandalism and an escape, said Katherine Sanguinetti, a corrections spokeswoman.
Gomez had been on parole from the Colorado Department of Corrections since Feb. 13, she said. His parole would have ended Feb. 13, 2009.
Jeff Chatman, 52, who lives a few houses from the shooting scene, said he was awakened by gunshots and roaring car engines.
Chatman said he heard three or four shots fired, then a short lull followed by a quick succession of about seven shots.
Police flooded the area in short order, Chatman said.
“You could hear the snow crunching and engines roaring,” Chatman said.
Chatman said the neighborhood is rife with crime, including routine car break-ins and drug dealings.
Recently Chatman, who is a car mechanic, had tools stolen from a truck parked at his home.
“They stole all my livelihood out of the back of my truck,” he said. “I don’t like the thieving and drug dealing.”
Victor Ortega, 24, a construction worker who also lives nearby, said he heard the gunshots and then police cars responding to the scene.
Ortega, who has three young children, has lived on Ada Place for just a few months. He described the early- morning incident as “frightening.”
