By Melissa Trujillo, The Associated Press
DENVER (AP) - Prosecutors said Wednesday they would not file charges against a police officer who shot and killed a bedridden invalid - the latest in a series of fatal Denver police shootings that led to no criminal charges.
District Attorney Bill Ritter’s decision not to prosecute came after a grand jury declined to indict Officer Ranjan Ford Jr. in the July shooting death of 63-year-old Frank Lobato. Lobato was shot to death when police swept through his home looking for a domestic violence suspect. Ford mistook the soda can he was holding for a gun and shot him in the chest, police said.
“I can’t ethically go forward believing that I can convince 12 people beyond a reasonable doubt that he’s committed the elements of the crime charged,” Ritter said.
The 12-member grand jury also did not issue a “true no-bill,” - which would have in effect legally cleared Ford - because it could not muster the nine votes necessary, Ritter spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough said.
Since Ritter took office in 1993, he has reviewed 38 fatal shootings by Denver police without filing criminal charges - a record that has enraged and frustrated some residents and community activists.
Lobato’s family issued a statement Wednesday demanding that Ford be charged and his supervisors be disciplined.
“How Bill Ritter, as the guardian of justice for residents of Denver, could turn his back on fairness and responsibility, is despicable,” the statement read.
Kimbrough defended Ritter’s record, saying every case before Lobato’s was open for review.
“The public has certainly had complete access to the case filings and no one has every been able to find a case out of those 82 that should have been filed,” she said.
Ford’s attorney, David Bruno, said Ford “sees this as vindication of what happened that day.”
Ford is under an administrative review by the police department, police spokeswoman Virginia Lopez said. He is on duty but is not assigned to patrols, she said.
Neither Ford nor Police Chief Gerald Whitman was available for further comment, Lopez said.
Ritter’s decision clears the way for the police department’s internal affairs bureau to investigate the shooting and that probe will be completed within 30 days, city safety manager Alvin LaCabe said.
Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney, said the FBI, possibly with U.S. Department of Justice officials, would also now review the investigation of the shooting. He said that was done previously in controversial police shootings.
He also said the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in Washington had been asked by some Denver residents and members of the City Council to review the entire police department. A call to confirm a possible investigation was not immediately returned.
Ford testified in front of the grand jury last month, which began investigating the case in September. Ritter said he sent the case to the grand jury because he believed citizens should have an opportunity to review the evidence.
“I made this decision not because it deferred criticism,” he said. “I made this decision because I believed it was necessary under the circumstances.”
Ford’s case was the first Denver police shooting in 12 years to be sent to a grand jury. Officer Michael Blake was charged with second-degree murder in 1993 and found not guilty at trial.
The family’s attorney, Kenneth Padilla, criticized giving the case to a grand jury, because its proceedings are private.
He said he would decide within the next few weeks whether to file a federal civil rights lawsuit or petition the state circuit court to re-evaluate Ritter’s decision. He also would not rule out a state civil lawsuit.
Lobato’s great-niece, Maxine Warren, said she was terrified of Denver police after her uncle’s death and the fatal shootings of others.
“It’s probably not going to be the last,” she said.