Denver Post
DENVER — A Denver police officer used reasonable force when he shot and killed a man walking through a residential neighborhood firing a gun, the District Attorney’s office said Monday.
Officer Kevin Ford shot Nicholas Alvarado Morales, 29, after Morales leveled his own gun at the officer early Dec. 13, according to the DA’s report.
“Instead of dropping the firearm, Morales chose to point and raise the firearm at Officer Ford, who reacted to this deadly threat by shooting Morales,” according to the report.
Morales, a resident of Mexico who was in the country illegally, died of one gunshot wound to the chest.
District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said Ford will not face criminal charges. Ford could not be reached forcomment.
Ford, who has been on the force for about two years, was dispatched to West Louisiana Avenue near South Knox Court after people reported someone firing shots in the area.
Ford and a police cadet riding with him spotted Morales walking west on Louisiana with both hands in the pockets of a black hoodie at the corner of South Patton Court.
As Ford left the patrol car, Morales pulled a pistol with his right hand and pointed it at Ford, who ducked behind his patrol car. The cadet took cover behind a rear tire.
Ford pointed his own pistol at Morales and repeatedly ordered him to drop the gun, the report said. “Morales began extending his arm and raising the firearm up toward eye level — directly at Officer Ford. Officer Ford believed Morales was going to shoot him. He responded by firing five shots at Morales.”
There is no evidence that Morales fired his weapon, a Ruger 9mm semiautomatic, during the incident, the report said.
After the shooting, people who heard the shots and saw police subduing Morales told The Denver Post and other media that police beat the wounded Morales.
The report found that Morales continued to struggle as Ford tried to cuff him.
“The officers repeatedly ordered Morales to ‘stop resisting’ as they struggled to control him,” according to the report.
Officer Stephen Garber, who arrived on the scene as Ford began shooting, helped subdue Morales.
“Officer Garber told investigators he struck Morales in the area of his upper body and head with his service pistol . . . in an effort to gain control.”
The report addresses the witnesses’ stories in a footnote: “They did not observe the shooting. They saw the officers attempting to place the resisting Morales in custody by handcuffing him after the shooting . . . the allegation that Morales was beaten to death is simply not supported by the facts.”
The amount of force witnesses described would have produced more serious injuries than the superficial wounds found by an autopsy, the report said.
Garber was justified hitting Morales with his firearm “based on the specific facts and circumstances of this case,” the report said.
Rosalinda Herrera, 20, who heard the shots and watched police subdue Morales, said she thinks what she saw that night was an unwarranted beating, regardless of what the district attorney found.
“I heard the man screaming something, and that is when they started to hit him,” she said. “There was kicking involved.”
The city of Denver’s Use of Force Review Board, made up of police and residents, will also review the shooting and decide whether the police followed proper procedure.
Copyright 2010 Denver Post