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District Attorney clears officer who shot Grand Junction man

Posted at 10:53 AM, Jan 11, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-11 12:53:13-05

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — The Mesa County district attorney has cleared the police officer who shot and killed a 24-year-old Grand Junction man of wrongdoing.

The Daily Sentinel reports that District Attorney Dan Rubinstein announced Tuesday that Officer Jacob Steele was justified when he shot Brian Gaither 10 times in the chest and abdomen Nov. 22.

Gaither first fled a traffic stop after he was seen with a gun in his car on Nov. 7. A warrant was issued for his arrest and days later, on Nov. 22, Steele recognized Gaither and attempted to pull him over.

Steele tried to physically remove Gaither from his vehicle and ended up partially pulled into the car when Gaither took off, dragging the officer along a wall. Steele then fired several times at Gaither, killing the man.

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Information from: The Daily Sentinel, http://www.gjsentinel.com

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