Conficting Stories After Officers Fatally Shoot Man In Evans
EVANS, Colo. (AP/CBS4) - Police in Evans say two officers fatally shot a man who they believed had a weapon outside a pool hall on Sunday night.
Police say the officers were called to Paradise Billiards in response to a report of a man with a gun outside at around 11:30 p.m. Police say the unidentified man refused the officers' orders to drop the weapon and raised what they thought was a weapon towards them.
The officers shot him and the man died after being taken to the hospital.
A witness who told CBS4 he was present during the incident said the victim didn't have a gun. The witness said the man who died was his father-in-law and he had been drinking.
The witness said his father-in-law called him after his SUV had broken down and the witness went to pick him up. When the witness arrived he said he saw a lot of police cruisers. He said the suspect actually raised a power drill, and not a gun when he was fired upon by officers.
The witness told CBS4 he believes the officers had other options other than shooting his father-in-law. But police told CBS4 they have very few choices when they think a suspect is raising a weapon at them.
"Any time a weapon is pointed at us we have to assume that they're willing to take that step of using it against us," Cmdr. Chad Harding with the Evans Police Department said. "If we're in fear of eminent serious bodily injury or death, then we're forced to defend ourselves."
LaSalle police officers were also involved in the incident. The Evans officer who shot the suspect has been placed on administrative leave during the investigation.
Greeley police are investigating the shooting.
The district attorney's office declined to comment.
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