Shooting of kidnapping suspect justified

Six police officers from Denver and Aurora will not face criminal charges for shooting and killing a man suspected of kidnapping a liquor store worker at gunpoint, leading police on a chase and pointing a gun at officers and others.

The officers shot the man, David Guillen, 22, of Denver, at least 23 times on June 22 and said he pointed a gun at officers and other people in the area, according to a letter by 17th Judicial District Attorney Dave Young explaining his decision not to charge the officers.

“The evidence supports the objectively reasonable conclusion that all the officers were in imminent danger of being killed or of receiving great bodily injury,” Young wrote.

The incident began when Guillen’s girlfriend asked the owner of Chamber Place Liquors to move his car so she could look for a ring she had dropped underneath it, according to the letter. When the owner got into his car to move it, Guillen jumped into the passenger seat and, holding a gun, told the man to drive or he would kill him.

The girlfriend got in her car and Guillen told the man to follow her.

Police started looking for the owner’s car after a liquor store employee called 911.

A Denver police officer found the car and used the department’s tool that lets officers shoot a GPS tracker onto a car to follow Guillen’s whereabouts.

The liquor store owner eventually stopped in the area of East 35th Place and Abilene Street just south of Interstate 70 in Aurora and was able to escape the car.

Police found Guillen near the car and followed him for more than seven minutes as he walked around the warehouses in the area. Guillen ignored commands by officers to drop his gun and pointed the gun at several people in the area, according to the letter. One of the officers then struck Guillen with his patrol car, knocking Guillen to the ground. As Guillen fell, he fired one bullet and then dropped the gun as he hit the ground, the letter states. Guillen then picked up the gun and pointed it at an officer, who opened fire.

Six officers — Brent Curtis, Dana Gerlach, Javier Reyes, Carlos Jacobo, Randy Wagner and James Quiesner — shot a total of 32 rounds at Guillen, according to the letter. At least 23 of the bullets struck Guillen, who died at the scene.

Still images taken from the officers’ body- worn cameras included in Young’s letter show Guillen pointing a gun at officers and others.

Young wrote in his letter that the officers were reasonable in fearing for their lives and those of others.