Denver authorities have identified the man killed in a police shooting Thursday night at East Fifth Avenue and Lafayette Street – but declined to release his name pending notification of next of kin.
Denver’s coroner identified the victim, who apparently was killed in his red sedan after an unidentified Denver police officer fired several shots at close range, Denver Police spokeswoman Sharon Avendaño said.
A Denver police statement Friday said an officer attempted to stop a speeding car at about 10:25 p.m. Thursday. The driver did not stop and lost control of his vehicle, according to the statement. The officer stopped his cruiser about 15 feet from the car, then got out of his cruiser and approached the sedan on foot, the statement said.
The suspect raced his engine, causing the officer to think he was about to be run over, and he fired several rounds into the vehicle’s windshield, police said.
“All that information is still the same,” Avendaño said Saturday night.
“We’ll be releasing information on the officer early next week,” she said.
