Denver officers shoot, kill unarmed man who allegedly assaulted woman in wheelchair

Two Denver Police Department officers responded to a "violent" domestic violence call Saturday night and found a man who had reportedly "thrown" a woman from her wheelchair and was beating a 14-year-old boy.

Minutes later, the encounter ended with the man fatally shot.

"It transpired pretty quickly," Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said at the scene. "I think our mindset when we respond to these calls is to get the situation settled, find out what's going on, and see if there's an arrest that needs to be made."

According to Thomas, the two officers arrived in the 2300 block of West Cedar Avenue just before 8 p.m. and tried to "engage the suspect." This was after neighbors called 911 and described the man having thrown a woman to the ground from her wheelchair and then beginning to assault the boy. 

Thomas described the activity as a "violent" domestic violence incident.

The man did respond to officers and stopped the assault, Thomas said. But then he became "became agitated and aggressive" and advanced toward the officers. When he disobeyed their several commands, one of the officers deployed a Taser which was ineffective, Thomas said. That's when the other officer fired his duty weapon.

The man went down and both officers began medical treatment. The man was transported by ambulance to a hospital where he passed away. 

The woman and boy were evaluated at the scene but neither was taken elsewhere for treatment.     

No weapon was recovered from the man who was shot.  

"Very tragic situation," Thomas said. Per protocol, an investigative team including members of DPD, the Colorado State Patrol, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Denver District Attorney's Office was notified. 

The identity of the deceased man will be provided later this week by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner.

Other younger children were present at the time of the assaults, Thomas added.