A traffic stop Sunday for a defective tail light turned into a foot chase of an armed 19-year-old and this month.
The traffic stop near South Blackhawk Street and East Evans Avenue was at about 11 p.m. — an hour after a nearby, and in an area police say is known for crime, where “individuals are often armed,” Aurora Police Sgt. Matthew Fyles said Tuesday during a news conference.
When police approached the vehicle with four people inside, officers smelled marijuana, according to details released by the police department.
Officers were in the process of identifying the four occupants of the vehicle and checking their criminal records when one passenger stepped out of the vehicle and took off on foot.
At least one officer began chasing the man, now identified as Natnael Gebretsadik, 19.
During the foot chase of about 100 yards, Gebretsadik tripped and fell to the ground, but rolled “in a position that brought him face to face with the pursuing officer and raised the firearm at that point,” Fyles said.
Gebretsadik got back on his feet, continued to run, and at one point again pointed the loaded gun at officers, Fyles said.
A three-year veteran of the department fired one shot. Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz said the officer, who has not been identified, had not been involved in any previous officer-involved shootings in Aurora, but it is unclear if he had been involved in any in Washington, D.C., where he worked previously.
Gebretsadik remained in critical condition Tuesday with life-threatening injuries, police said.
Aurora’s four officer-involved shootings this month all involved suspects with weapons, Metz emphasized.
“This is kind of an anomaly,” Metz said. Officers “are encountering people who seem to be more emboldened.”
According to data from the department, in 2015, Aurora officers were involved in eight shootings. So far in 2016, seven officers have been involved in four shootings.
Of the three people in the vehicle with Gebretsadik, two were questioned and released, while one was charged with possession of the drug ecstasy.
The full list of charges that Gebretsadik will face has not been determined, but police say he will at least be charged with “possession of a weapon by a previous offender.”
Fyles said Gebretsadik had been arrested 26 times for violent crimes including weapons and robbery charges.
Police say the weapon in Sunday’s incident has not been reported stolen, but was not obtained legally.
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372, yrobles@denverpost.com or @yeseniarobles
