DENVER – Lakewood police officers shot and killed a man just north of West Colfax Tuesday afternoon after he allegedly pointed a handgun at them.
According to Lakewood Police Department spokesperson John Romero, the department was called out to Prestige Imports, near the intersection of West Colfax Ave. and Garrison St., on a report that a man was trespassing around some of the cars on the lot.
Shortly thereafter, they were told of a robbery in progress at a Safeway across the street, though Romero said investigators now believe there was not a robbery there.
But while officers were investigating the robbery, they spotted the suspect from the initial call – a white male in his mid-20s to mid-30s – near the Big O Tires at West Colfax and Glen Moor Drive.
Romero said they chased after the man to a neighborhood behind the Homestead Motel and that he pulled out a handgun and pointed it at officers, at which time several returned fire.
The man died at the scene, Romero said. He could not say at the 2:45 p.m. news conference how many officers fired their weapons. None of the officers were wearing body cameras.
Lakewood police said Wednesday they had confirmed that the suspect who was killed shot at officers “at least twice.” They identified him as 32-year-old Ty Spencer Walvatne-Donahey.
The Jefferson County Critical Incident Response Team will investigate this shooting. Per department policy, the officers who shot the suspect will be placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
