A man suspected of making threats with a pistol at a liquor store at First Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard Wednesday evening was shot and killed by a plainclothes Lakewood police officer several blocks away.
The shooting happened after the unmarked police sport-utility vehicle tried to pull over the man near Sloan’s Lake, said Lakewood police spokesman Steve Davis.
The man, who has not been named, instead crashed his mini-van into the Nissan Pathfinder carrying two officers.
Davis said the man jumped out and ran to the edge of the street, where he was shot several times by the officer. Investigators found a pistol near the man, but neither Davis nor Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson knew if the man fired at officers.
“The officer apparently felt threatened enough to shoot the suspect,” Davis said.
Denver police are investigating because the man ran to the east side of Sheridan Boulevard, which is Denver’s jurisdiction.
The Denver coroner’s office is expected to identify the man Thursday.
