DENVER (AP) — Denver’s district attorney has determined transit security guards were legally justified in killing a 43-year-old man near a light rail station.
Armando Vigil was shot on August 23 after authorities said he pointed a handgun at a contract security guard employed by Allied Universal Security Services.
District attorney Beth McCann said in a Friday letter that the use of force by security officers Stephanie Suttmiller and Jesse Opp was justified because they had reason to believe their lives were in imminent danger.
A review found the two guards fired a combined 29 shots at Vigil in a 12-second period, hitting him at least 14 times. Vigil apparently did not fire his gun.
According to McCann’s letter, authorities found a second loaded handgun, methamphetamine and heroin in Vigil’s backpack.
