911 Dispatcher Fired After Sending Victim To Shooting Scene

That 911 operator told Jimma Reat and his family to return to West 29th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard to wait for Denver police.

Their vehicle was sprayed with bullets moments later and Reat was killed.

Early on in the investigation, Denver 911 admitted that the operator did not follow protocol.

The dispatcher, who had been placed on leave immediately after the April 1 incident, has not been identified.

"Even though the family remains upset of the terrible things that happened to my brother, the city and the county of Denver did the right thing in taking appropriate action," Reat's brother Gatwec Dengpathot told 7NEWS late Tuesday night.

Reat was a refugee from Sudan.

Police say Reat was driving with three other people when suspects in a red Jeep began throwing bottles and debris at their car, breaking a window.

By the time they called Denver 911 about the incident, they were 2 miles away from the site of the confrontation.

The operator who took the call told the victims to return to Denver and wait for officers to arrive, said Denver Police spokeswoman Raquel Lopez.

"I told them I don't really want to go back on that side because that's where everything happened," said Reat's cousin, Ran Pal, who was driving the car and who was also calling 911.

"I said, 'I’m here at home, this is where I feel safe so please send somebody.' He said, 'No. If you don't go back that way, we won't be able to send anybody, and it's going to be your loss. We won't be able to file a police report."

Pal said he gave in and drove in the direction police told him.

The car, with four people inside, returned to West 29th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard and stopped to wait for police.

As Pal, Reat and others were standing outside the parked car, the red Jeep drove by and opened fire on them, shooting Reat in the back, police said.

The Jeep then sped away from the scene.

Reat was taken to Denver Health Medical Center where he died.

The executive director of Denver 911, Carl Simpson, apologized early on, saying, "We are deeply saddened about the events that transpired."

Simpson said the dispatcher should have worked with Wheat Ridge police and have them meet Reat.

"The call transpired very quickly and it just got sideways very quickly and I will tell you we didn't do our best work that night,” Simpson said.

In violent incidents people typically are not asked to return to the Denver area because police can travel to meet them outside the city, said Ernie Franssen, the Denver 911 operations manager.

Police still have not found the gunman or gunmen responsible. The suspected red Jeep involved in the drive-by shooting was found abandoned later that day. It had been stolen, Denver police said.

"Even though it's taken so long, we are still hopeful that these criminals that took away my brother's life will be brought to justice soon," Dengpathot told 7NEWS Tuesday night.

There is a $2,000 Crimestoppers award for anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the individuals involved in the shooting.