Denver police: Woman with knife was ‘aggressive’ before deadly shooting
DENVER (KDVR) — Denver police on Tuesday addressed a shooting that left a woman dead after officers shot her on June 16.
The woman was reported by three separate callers at North Broadway and Lawrence Street at about 11:35-11:45 a.m. that Sunday, and was reportedly carrying a “large hunting-style knife.”
The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner identified the woman as Miguel Tapia, 52, and police said she presented as a trans woman. However, the Denver Police Department said they have, as yet, been unsuccessful in notifying her next of kin.
Timeline of police-involved shooting explained
Denver Police Major Crimes Division Commander Matt Clark said Tuesday that a Denver Parks ranger was also at the scene with a police radio and was able to give specific information to dispatchers, including that the weapon in the woman’s hand appeared to be an about 8-inch blade and a bag, and that she was refusing to exit the intersection.
Clark noted that the intersection experiences heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic. He said that three officers arrived on scene around 11:55 a.m. and used their vehicles to try and contain Tapia and protect the scene from other vehicles in the intersection.
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From the time officers arrived on scene to the time Tapia was shot was only about a minute, according to the body-worn camera footage released by Denver police.
“It did happen very quickly, as you see,” said Clark. “Within 10 seconds of the initial interaction, Tasers are deployed. Several seconds later, there’s gunshots being fired.”
One officer can be heard on the body camera, which was time-stamped to 11:53 a.m., telling her to “put your stuff down and put your hands on your head,” before exiting his vehicle. Clark said that officers yelled commands at the woman in both English and Spanish. However, the woman appeared to be communicating only in Spanish. The suspect told officers not to approach and threatened them.
A second officer on the scene deployed his Taser, or stun gun, directly after the first officer stepped out of his vehicle. The Taser made contact with the suspect, who seemed to stumble slightly. The first officer deployed a second round of the Taser. Then the second officer deployed his Taser as, according to Clark, the suspect began to approach the officers and drew the knife from a bag she was carrying.
“While the first Taser deployment appears to have briefly been effective, it was clear the subject was not incapacitated as they continued aggressively moving toward officers,” Clark said.
The Denver Police Department shared this photo of a knife that was taken from a woman’s body after she was reportedly aggressively moving toward the officers and they shot and killed her. Denver police shared this image of body-worn camera footage involving an armed suspect.
At that point, an officer is heard on the body-worn camera footage yelling “shoot her,” and seconds later officers fired. According to Denver police, 12 rounds were fired in 2 seconds. A Denver police sergeant was also at the scene and fired shots after seeing Tapia approach the officers with a knife drawn after she had been struck with at least one Taser cartridge, Clark said.
Officers can be seen on the body-worn camera footage then removing the knife from Tapia’s body, handcuffing her and then rolling her over to begin first aid. Medical personnel responded to the scene, where Tapia was pronounced dead.
The three officers have been placed on a modified duty status while they complete the department’s reintegration program. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Colorado State Patrol, Denver Homicide and the Denver District Attorney’s Office are also investigating the deadly shooting.
Community concerns lead to rally
When asked Tuesday if this type of situation would have been right for a co-responder team, such as Denver’s Support Team Assisted Response, which provides person-centric mobile crisis responses to people in partnership with the Denver Police Department, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said because of the knife’s presence, the incident would have been inappropriate for a co-responder team.
“Had there been a co-responder available and nearby, certainly there might have been an opportunity for them to intervene some kind of way, but I think the urgency with getting someone there to get this person out of the roadway, and then the presence of the knife, I think it was important for the nearest available officers to respond,” Thomas said.
Thomas also confirmed that the suspect was a trans woman and also likely houseless. But he said those metrics did not factor into the decision to shoot her: Instead, it was solely based on her aggressively moving toward officers with a large knife in her hand, and the urgency to clear the intersection.
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Thomas also noted that the suspect was speaking to officers in Spanish. Thomas said one of the officers who responded to the call was fluent in Spanish.
Housekeys Action Network Denver has raised concerns since the shooting, noting that the woman was trans and calling for less-lethal responses for individuals who are experiencing mental health crises. The group plans to rally on the matter at the intersection of Lawrence and Broadway on Tuesday.
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