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Body-camera video shows officer shoot suspect while pulling hostage to safety

The DA's office announced Wednesday that no officers will be charged in the September fatal shooting where an officer was shot in the neck.

BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Dramatic body-camera footage released Wednesday shows an officer pulling a man to safety with one arm while firing his weapon at a suspect on a busy Broomfield roadway last September.

The footage was released by the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office after it was determined that none of the three officers who discharged their weapons during the incident would be charged.

On Sept. 29, a Denver Police Department (DPD) fugitive unit was working to apprehend Anthony Lainez, a homicide suspect. They located him in a vehicle near East Midway and Sheridan Boulevards.

>The video above is a prior report about the shooting.

Lainez was heading south on Sheridan in a white Ford Edge when he turned left and got into a crash with a blue Ford Explorer, police said. Lainez got out of his car after it spun out. He tried to get into the car of another driver who had stopped after witnessing the crash, the DA's decision letter says.

According to the letter, Lainez held a gun to that driver's rib and told him to "go." The driver, though, removed the keys from the ignition and attempted to get out but Lainez attempted to pull him back into the car.

A Denver detective who was first to the scene saw Lainez hanging on to the driver as the driver screamed and struggled to get away, the letter says.

He ran up to the Corolla while yelling at Lainez to show his hands. He described that Lainez appeared to be holding the victim as a shield.

Credit: Adams County DA

When a second Denver detective arrived at the scene he noticed the struggle and drove his truck to the front of the Corolla in an effort to distract Lainez, the letter says. The detective got out and was going to use his rifle to break the windshield but was met with gunfire from Lainez, the letter says. The detective was shot in the neck but, according to the letter, managed to fire one shot from his rifle as he fell to the ground.

Credit: 17th DA's Office
A still image from a detective's BWC shows Lainez pointing his handgun at another detective at the front of the Corolla.

As that happened, the first responding officer pulled the victim away from Lainez while simultaneously returning fire at Lainez, the letter says. The officer stepped backward and stumbled and Lainez advanced toward him, according the letter. The officer fired several more times at Lainez.

A third officer who arrived at the scene reported that he saw Lainez on the ground reaching for a handgun that was next to him, the letter says. The officer yelled, "don't grab the gun," and when Lainez ignored that command the officer also fired at Lainez. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The injured officer was taken to the hospital and released about a week later.

Editor's note: This video below contains images of a shooting that may be disturbing to some viewers.

 

The DA's office concluded that Lainez posed a grave threat to the lives and safety of others and his actions warranted the use of force by law enforcement officers to save lives.

A woman who had been with Lainez was arrested and later charged with numerous crimes including aggravated robbery. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison in April.

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