Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey on Thursday cleared two Denver police officers of wrongdoing in a shootout with an armed robber that resulted in the gunman and three bystanders being wounded at a Vietnamese restaurant in November.
In a written decision, Morrissey stated that Sgt. John Pinder and Detective Jesse Avendano, who were assigned to the Denver Police Narcotics Bureau and working in plainclothes Nov. 14, had only one option: to fire on a shotgun-wielding robber amid a busy lunch-hour crowd at Pho Ha Noi Restaurant, 1036 S. Federal Blvd.
The gunman, whom police have identified as Phuong Van Dang, 26, was shot five times, but not before firing one shot in the direction of the officers, nearly striking one before his shotgun jammed, investigators said.
“Their only reasonable, available option under the facts of this case was to use their service pistols to control the deadly threat posed by Dang,” Morrissey said.
“Electing to employ a less than optimum or an ineffective response in these circumstances could heighten the risk to everyone,” he said.
The injured bystanders were a couple and their adult son who were having lunch. The son suffered a graze wound, his father was shot once in the lower left leg and his mother was shot in the abdomen. They all recovered from their injuries, authorities said.
Dang, whose criminal record includes assault with a deadly weapon, recovered from his wounds and was returned to a prison facility in Fremont to serve the remainder of an 18-year sentence, Morrissey said. He was on work-release from a halfway house when the attempted robbery occurred.
In connection with the shootout, Dang faces 36 felony charges, including multiple attempted and first-degree assault counts, attempted aggravated robbery, felony menacing and possession of a weapon by a previous offender.
Manny Gonzales: 303-954-1537 omgonzales@denverpost.com
