DA clears cop who shot bank robber

A Denver Police Department officer who shot and killed a bank robber on the 16th Street Mall will not be charged with a crime, according to the district attorney’s office.

Officer Brent Cairns, a five-year veteran, was justified when he fired two shots at John T. Bazemore because Bazemore pointed a .25-caliber pistol at the officer, according to a letter released Wednesday by District Attorney Beth McCann. The shooting happened Nov. 10.

Bazemore, 25, had been cornered in an alley on the mall after he robbed ANB Bank at 600 16th St. while wearing a mask and brandishing a pistol, the letter said. Cairns had grabbed Bazemore’s arm to apprehend him when the suspect pointed the gun at Cairns’ stomach from point-blank range.

Bazemore, who had taken nearly $1,500, had been chased by a bank vice president and the teller. The bank employees found Cairns in his patrol car and pointed toward the robber, who was fleeing down the mall, the DA’s letter said.

Cairns did not activate his body camera until after the shooting, so video evidence does not exist, McCann said.

“This failure may be attributable to the fact that Officer Cairns had not started his shift and that this emergency situation evolved quickly,” McCann wrote.

McCann will hold a public forum to discuss the shooting at 6 p.m. on April 9 at the Blair-Caldwell Library, 2401 Welton St.