Denver police shoot, kill woman investigators say was armed with knife

A Denver police officer shot and killed a woman investigators say attacked an officer with a knife Sunday.

Officers tased the woman twice and when she continued to attack an officer, at least one officer shot her, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said. She was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Thomas, in a news conference Sunday, said that officers received a report of a person being armed with a knife near Broadway and Lincoln Street. The woman has not yet been publicly identified.

"Two calls were received one was from a Denver park ranger and the other from a passerby, describing the individual saying that they were in the intersection holding a knife," Thomas said. "Officers arrived on scene in just a few minutes and encountered the female still in the intersection holding the knife."

He then recalled the moments that led up to the shooting, adding, "officers issued a series of commands for them to drop the weapon, in which they refused and actually began to advance on the officers and the officers then deployed a taser twice. Both of those taser deployments appeared to make impact, but didn't have the desired effect."

"The officers then transitioned to their handguns and fired a number of rounds. The suspect went down and the officers immediately called for an ambulance and began to render aid. Ambulance arrived in less than two minutes and unfortunately pronounced the suspect deceased," he continued.

DPD, Colorado State Patrol and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation are now investigating the shooting, per protocol, Thomas said.