AURORA, Colo. — Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain fought back against what he called “misinformation” surrounding the deadly police shooting of a Black man over the weekend.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Chamberlain defended the officer who shot and killed 37-year-old Rajon Belt-Stubblefield during a confrontation that followed a traffic stop for a possible DUI near the intersection of Interstate 225 and 6th Avenue Saturday evening.
Chamberlain said an armed Belt-Stubblefield initially fled the traffic stop and struck two vehicles before exiting his car.
After he got out of the car, Chamberlain said Belt-Stubblefield threw his loaded gun onto the ground and began to approach the officer aggressively, pushing the lone officer—who was pointing his weapon at the suspect—into 6th Avenue traffic while ignoring the officer's commands.
At the same time that Belt-Stubblefield was allegedly pushing the officer onto the busy road, Chamberlain said the suspect was yelling “get that sh—!” to a crowd of onlookers, motioning to the group to retrieve his gun, according to the chief.
“He said multiple, multiple times, ‘get that sh--! Get that sh--!’ While he continually pointed back at the handgun,” Chamberlain said.
Despite attempts at de-escalation, Chamberlain said the officer fired three shots, killing the suspect.
"This was a tragic incident. A life was lost, an officer was forced to make a split-second decision that no one wanted, but the suspect's actions created this danger, and our officers responded to survive and to protect others," he said.
The incident was captured on body-worn and surveillance cameras, and Aurora's top cop said witness statements corroborate the officer's actions.
"It's important to understand that even after the suspect discarded the weapon, the threat to the officer and the public didn't just disappear just because there's not a weapon there," Chamberlain said.
Some city officials, including Councilmember Alison Coombs, criticized the police narrative and called for the immediate release of body cam footage.
But Chamberlain said footage will not be released until the officer involved in the shooting has spoken to investigators from the 18th Judicial District CERT team.
Others have argued that the use of deadly force on an unarmed individual is justified only when all de-escalation efforts have been exhausted.
But the Aurora police chief said the officer involved in the shooting took several steps to try to de-escalate the situation, and only used deadly force because the officer believed he faced an imminent threat of death or serious injury.
"Less lethal options were used. De-escalation was used. De-escalation doesn't come in the form of just a device or a mechanism. It comes in the force of space. It comes in the presence of time. It comes in the aspect of communication. It comes in the aspect of giving up ground, repositioning. It comes in the aspect of physical force. Is that a part of the escalation?" he said.
Chamberlain promised a thorough, transparent investigation in collaboration with the district attorney’s office.
"Our commitment is simple. We will uncover the truth. We will support our officers and this department through the due process, and we respect the community's concerns with openness and accountability," Chamberlain said.
He said he is withholding the identity of the officer involved because of threats made on social media toward that officer and his family. However, he did confirm that the officer had been involved in past use-of-force situations.
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