An Aurora Police Department officer has been cleared of criminal charges after he shot a suspect Jan. 3 at a Havana Street apartment complex.
Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey issued a decision letter Monday morning, saying Officer Jeffrey Olson was justified in firing his .40-caliber Glock at Omari Cook-Nunn. The Denver district attorney investigated because it happened at an apartment complex on the Aurora/Denver line.
Olson is back on street patrol, said Sgt. Chris Amsler, an Aurora police spokesman. The department is conducting an internal affairs review to determine whether Olson complied with use-of-force policies.
Olson was called to the Meridian Garden Apartments in the 900 block of South Havana Street after multiple residents reported hearing shots fired between 2:26 a.m. and 2:31 a.m.
He was the first officer on the scene, and he reported hearing gunshots shortly after his arrival.
Olson confronted Cook-Nunn on a walkway and ordered him to drop his weapon, a .22-caliber handgun.
Olson told investigators that Cook-Nunn turned toward him and swung the gun low and outside of his body, the decision letter said.
“I was scared for my life — I was — I thought he was going to turn and start shooting at me, given that he had just shot off other rounds,” Olson is quoted as saying in the letter.
Olson fired one shot that grazed Cook-Nunn’s neck. He was treated at a hospital for his wound and later jailed on first-degree assault charges.
Witnesses at the apartment complex supported the police officer’s account of the shooting. They also told investigators that they believed the officer made the right decision.
Investigators later found more than three dozen shell casings from Cook-Nunn’s pistol, according to the decision letter.
Officer-involved shootings and how they are investigated by authorities have been in question in the past week after two Denver police officers shot and killed 17-year-old in an alley in the Park Hill neighborhood.
Her family and several community groups have such as the U.S. Attorney’s office to investigate.
Noelle Phillips: 303-954-1661, nphillips@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Noelle_Phillips
