A man was shot and killed early this morning by officers in Longmont after police say he failed to put a handgun down.
The Boulder County Coroner’s Office this afternoon identified the man as Brian Christopher Naranjo, 35, of Longmont.
The incident started at about 2:45 a.m. when a Boulder County sheriff’s deputy stopped a car in Longmont near the intersection of Eighth Avenue and Lashley Street, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said.
The car was pulled over on a “routine” stop, Pelle said, and the deputy found that the driver was wanted on an outstanding warrant and that the car had a stolen temporary tag on it.
A second deputy arrived as a backup and was talking to a pedestrian, Pelle said, when the deputy who made the original stop yelled out: “He’s got a gun!”
The driver then sped away, Pelle said.
The deputies pursued the car, and Longmont police officers joined in the chase through southeast Longmont, Pelle said.
An officer used a patrol car to ram the fleeing vehicle, and it came to a stop near the intersection of Third Avenue and Emery Street.
A bean bag was fired at the car and broke a window, Pelle said. Officers were yelling commands at the driver, who was not responding.
“A few seconds later the suspect raised his hand with a gun in it and the officers fired on him,” Pelle said.
Two deputies and three officers shot the man, who died at the scene, Pelle said.
Naranjo had a long arrest record, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, including numerous drug and traffic arrests.
In January 1999, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon in Longmont, according to CBI records.
A month later, he was arrested in Boulder County on felony suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon and a felony drug-possession charge. In November 1999, he was convicted of the two charges and sentenced to three years in prison, according to CBI records.
In December, in a case out of Longmont, Naranjo was charged with drug possession, speeding and driving while under restraint. He failed to appear at a court hearing for the December arrest, according to CBI records.
The fatal shooting is under investigation, and officers involved will be placed on routine administrative leave.
No officers were injured in the incident.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
