Aurora police officer cleared in prior shooting

The Aurora police officer who shot and killed a suspect in June outside an East Colfax Avenue motel was justifiably in fear for his life when he pulled the trigger, the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office determined.

The officer who fired the fatal shot in that incident, Drew Limbaugh, also is under investigation in the July 30 shooting death of 73-year-old Richard Gary Black, an Aurora homeowner who was shot by police while defending his family from a violent intruder.

Limbaugh had not been publicly identified in either shooting until the district attorney’s decision letter on the June 27 shooting outside the motel was released Tuesday afternoon. He is working in a non-enforcement capacity, said Officer Bill Hummel, an Aurora police spokesman.

In his letter, Rich Orman, a senior chief deputy district attor-

ney, wrote that Limbaugh shot and killed Joey Bronson outside the Biltmore Motel after Bronson pointed his gun at Limbaugh and two other Aurora officers. The only reason Bronson did not shoot police is because his gun malfunctioned, Orman wrote.

“Any police officer in that position would reasonably be in fear for his life and the lives of other officers, and would reasonably believe that firing his service weapon was necessary to defend himself and his fellow officers,” Orman wrote in the letter.

Police were called to a bus stop outside a convenience store near East Colfax and Yosemite Street just after midnight on June 27 after a receiving a report that shots had been fired. Witnesses at the bus stop said two men had argued and one pulled a handgun and fired two shots in the air.

The witnesses gave a suspect description to police, who found the man, later identified as Bronson, walking on Yosemite. When Limbaugh and Officer Michael Foley attempted to stop Bronson, he ran, Orman wrote.

Limbaugh and Foley told investigators they could see a gun in Bronson’s hand. Bronson turned a corner and crouched in a secluded area with his gun aimed at the officers, according to Orman.

“When Officer Limbaugh came around the corner and saw the male standing there he thought the male was going to shoot him,” Orman wrote. “He was in fear for his life and Officer Foley’s life.”

Limbaugh fired 13 rounds from his 9mm Glock handgun, striking Bronson multiple times. After the shooting, investigators found Bronson’s .380 automatic pistol with an unfired bullet jammed in the ejection port, Orman wrote. Investigators were unsure how an unfired bullet got jammed there but reported that the gun was in bad condition.

Even after Bronson was shot, officers feared he might reach for the gun again, according to statements caught on body camera footage that was included in the letter. When Limbaugh told him, “Reach for that gun, (and) you’re getting shot again,” Bronson replied, “I’m dead, cuz.”

The police officers used a tourniquet on Bronson’s leg, and he was taken to a hospital, where he later died. Bronson had been shot 11 times.

District Attorney George Brauchler promised to expedite the investigation into the motel shooting after the Black shooting. Limbaugh’s second officer-involved shooting raised questions about whether the Aurora Police Department had allowed Limbaugh to return to his patrol duties too soon.

The Black shooting is under investigation by Adams County District Attorney Dave Young.

In an unrelated case, investigators also determined that an Aurora police officer was justified in the deadly shooting of a man during a traffic stop in February.

The Aurora Sentinel reports Arapahoe County investigators released the report Tuesday, clearing the officer in the shooting of Troy Jacques.

According to the report, two officers pulled over Jacques because he matched the description of a man involved in a crime the previous day. Jacques exited his van and approached the officers.

According to the report, the officers ordered him to get on the ground, but he returned to his van, grabbed a pistol and pointed it at the officers.

The officer fired more than 20 shots, killing Jacques.

Body camera footage corroborated the officers’ accounts of the shooting.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.