DENVER — Denver police still have not released body camera video from Sunday's shooting in LoDo, when three officers hit six bystanders with their gunfire while shooting at an armed suspect as crowds left the bars.
The department said they will release the body camera video after the investigation is complete and turned over to the district attorney.
9NEWS has been piecing together what happened based on the few pictures police shared and video from witnesses.
Police said it took less than five seconds, and it all happened in a half-block of Larimer Street near 20th Street. After seeing a fight outside a bar, police said, officers approached the suspect, 21-year-old Jordan Waddy.
"The uniformed officers contacted the subject in the street, giving him verbal direction to stop," DPD Major Crimes Commander Matt Clark said Wednesday.
Clark released a body camera image of Waddy standing between two cars. He said Waddy went back onto the sidewalk and pulled a gun on the other side of an SUV. DPD says a picture shows him pointing the gun at two officers, who then shot at him from the street.
"The officers were pretty clear that they had a clear shot and that the backdrop was the brick pillar or the interior of the beer hall, which had been cleared out," Clark said.
A third officer had a view of Waddy with the crowd behind him. He fired once, police said, while taking care to aim at Waddy.
Witness images show a woman bleeding on the sidewalk, on the other side of Waddy from the third officer who fired.
Clark said investigators recovered Waddy's gun on the scene. It can just barely be seen in a witness video.
DPD still won't say whether officers' bullets hit the six bystanders, but two victims say they were shot, and photos show what appear to be bullet wounds.
Clark said rounds may have ricocheted, and at least one round hit the fence in front of the beer hall.
Backgrounds of officers
An arrest affidavit for Waddy reveals the names of five officers who were on the scene. Police have not confirmed which of those officers fired shots.
The affidavit shows Officer Kenneth Rowland noticed the suspect had a gun.
According to the Colorado Attorney General's Office, Rowland worked at the Thornton Police Department before moving to DPD.
Rowland was involved in an arrest of a suspected drug dealer in March 2017. The man later died during a struggle with officers. Rowland, four other Thornton police officers, and two Federal Heights police officers tried to get the man into custody, when, District Attorney Dave Young said, a Federal Heights officer deployed his taser.
The man said he could not breathe at some point during the struggle and he then stopped breathing, according to Young.
Young did not file criminal charges against any of the officers involved in this incident after the medical examination revealed "significant factors other than restraint" that contributed to the suspect's death. The coroner determined the case of death to be methamphetamine-induced excited delirium.
According to Young's decision letter, the Thornton police officers, through advice of their attorney, refused to be interviewed until they saw all available evidence.
Thornton PD initiated an internal investigation related to this incident, and ultimately the officers made themselves available for interviews.
There are no sustained complaints against Rowland's record with DPD.
The affidavit shows Officer James Cambria was standing next to Rowland before the LoDo shooting, and that he told officers he was afraid for his life.
City records show an internal complaint was filed against Cambria less than a year after the Denver Police Department hired him in 2020.
A disciplinary action report says he was fined two days of work in December 2020 for failing to thoroughly search a suspect before that person was taken to Denver's downtown jail.
City records show all of the officers were up-to-date on their firearms training.
City councilwoman responds
Councilwoman At Large Robin Kniech, the chairperson of Denver City Council's Safety, Housing and Homelessness Committee, released a statement about the shooting Thursday.
"While I understand the necessity and time required for a thorough investigation, I must also acknowledge the shaken trust of our community," the statement reads in part. "I am concerned that our city's calls to patiently wait for an investigation could be perceived as conflicting with DPD statements defending the officers' actions long before those investigations are complete, and the full body of evidence is released to the public. Our priority as a city must be an objective investigation and accountability to our community."
In the statement, Kniech said investigations into the shooting will be conducted not only by DPD, but also by the city's Office of the Independent Monitor.
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