Aurora Police Investigate High Number Of Officer-Involved Shootings
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- Police in Aurora are investigating what they call a high number of officer-involved shootings this year.
In the latest incident, a man ran away from and shot at police officers in Aurora early Thursday. Jarome Lee Blackmon died after officers opened fire on him.
It was the seventh officer-involved shooting in Aurora in 2011, compared to Denver, which has documented only one. Of the seven shootings in Aurora, six of the suspects have died.
"This year has been an aberration for us. Typically, we do not see this kind of activity. I can't give you necessarily a reason why that's happening," said Aurora Police Lt. Paul O'Keefe.
The incident happened just after 3 a.m. in the 142000 block of East Arkansas. Officers were called out to a report of a loud argument in the street between a man and a woman.
When police arrived they approached two people who were sitting in a parked van and asked a man, identified as Jerome Blackmon, 21, to step out.
"When they were contacting one of the male subjects in order to try and do a pat down of him the subject resisted, a brief struggle ensued and the male subject ran from our officers," O'Keefe told CBS4.
After Blackmon started running away police tried to use a taser to slow him down but it apparently didn't work.
"I think honestly that he ran because he knew he had the weapon," said Phoebe Lopez-Baker. Blackmon had been staying with Lopez-Baker.
"You've been doing this for a long time. I know I could hit a person with gun shots and injure somebody instead of just killing them," said Lopez-Baker.
"The taser, when it was deployed, either didn't work or was ineffective," O'Keefe said.
A preliminary investigation revealed Blackman pointed a handgun at the police while they were chasing him. At that point two officers opened fire with their guns and hit Blackman several times. It wasn't clear if Blackmon fired his gun.
Blackmon was rushed to the hospital and died.
No officers were hurt in the incident. The officers involved in the shooting will remain on administrative leave until the department determines they are physically and mentally ready to return.
Blackmon has a criminal history, including a 2009 incident involving the firing of a handgun into a home while people were inside, fraud and fugitive of justice. Blackmon was a suspect in relation to an Aug. 2011 robbery in Aurora.
The weapon recovering from Blackmon at the scene is described as a Cobra Enterprises .380 caliber handgun. Investigation into the history of the weapon remains ongoing.
