Security guard jailed in deadly shooting
DENVER — A private security guard working for a local TV station was jailed for investigation of first-degree murder in the deadly shooting of another man during dueling right- and left-wing protests in downtown Denver, police said Sunday
Matthew Dolloff, 30, was taken into custody in connection with a clash that took place Saturday afternoon in Civic Center Park.
A man participating in what was billed a “Patriot Rally” slapped and sprayed Mace at a man who appeared to be Dolloff, the Denver Post reported, based on its photographs from the scene. The man identified by the newspaper as Dolloff drew a gun from his waistband and shot the other person, according to the Denver Post journalist who witnessed the episode.
The shooting victim was not named by authorities and died at a nearby hospital. But his son identified the man on Sunday to the Denver Post as Lee Keltner, a 49-.year-old U.S. Nav y veteran who operated a hat-making business in the Denver area.
“He wasn’t a part of any group,” Johnathon Keltner told the newspaper. “He was there to rally for the police department and he’d been down there before rallying for the police department.”
A woman who said she was the victim’s mother, Carol Keltner, wrote in a social media post that her son was killed after being shot in the head.
A decision on any charges will be up to the Denver District Attorney’s Office, police said. A spokesperson for District Attorney Beth McCann said Sunday that the arrest affidavit in the case remained sealed and referred further questions to the pol i ce.
It was not immediately clear if Dolloff had an attorney.
Police Division Chief Joe Montoya said two guns were found at the scene, as well as a Mace can.
The shooting occurred beneath a city sur veillance camera, and police said they have footage of the incident, KUSA-TV reported.
KUSA said it had hired the guard through the Pinkerton security firm. “It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to hire private security to accompany staff at protests,” the station said.
The right-wing Patriot Rally was one of two demonstrations happening at about the same time that drew hundreds of people to the park. Protesters at a left-wing “BLM-Antifa Soup Drive” nearby held up flags and signs railing against Nazis and white supremacists.
Representatives of Pinkerton did not immediately return email and telephone messages for comment.