AURORA, Colo. — A man who was allegedly armed with a “large knife” was shot and killed by Aurora police officers on an RTD bus Sunday evening.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office was initially called for a reported disturbance involving a man, who was part of a work-release program, at a group home in the area of Moline Street and East Colfax Avenue around 6 p.m.
The deputy found the 35-year-old man at a nearby bus stop allegedly armed with a knife and called for backup, according to the Aurora Police Department. The man had threatened several people in the area, police said.
Aurora police said shortly after, 911 calls started coming in about a robbery at a corner store in the 11000 block of Colfax Avenue. From there, the man boarded an RTD bus, police said. Officers followed to take the man into custody. An officer deployed a Taser and another deployed a K9, but the department said both were ineffective. Two officers then fired their guns, hitting the man.
The man was taken to University Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The Adams County Coroner’s Office will release the man’s name at a later time.
No one else was injured during the incident, though there were other passengers on the bus.
The two officers who fired their weapons have been placed on paid administrative leave, per department policy. Every involved officer was wearing a body-worn camera at the time of the shooting, which will be part of the investigation.
The 17th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team responded to the scene to conduct the investigation. There were several witnesses, but investigators believe there are others who they haven’t spoken to yet. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the 17th Judicial District CIRT by calling Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
