Sheriff releases video of shooting

The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office has released a summary of body-worn camera footage of a Nov. 21 shooting in Loveland that left one man dead.

The three deputies involved in the shooting were cleared by the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, according to a letter released on Feb. 10, in the shooting death of Justin Anderson of Fort Collins.

District Attorney Gordon Mclaughlin said, in that letter, that deputies had reason to believe their lives were in danger and that nonviolent means would not have stopped Anderson. Sheriff John Feyen, in the summary released Friday, again stressed that the officers were deemed justified in the shooting.

“Our goal is to give suspects every opportunity to choose a safe ending,” Feyen said in the video. “Unfortunately in this case, the suspect made decisions that left deputies with no other option than to use lethal force.”

On Nov. 21, a deputy was at the Love’s Travel Stop in Berthoud, a place he said was known to be used for drug transactions, and observed what he described as suspicious behavior. Because of this, he attempted to stop a truck that was being driven by Anderson for a headlight violation.

The letter from Mclaughlin, and audio clips from dispatch included in the newly released video, show that Anderson did not stop and instead fled north on Interstate 25, driving in an erratic manner before exiting at Crossroads Boulevard. Deputies used their vehicles to force Anderson’s truck to stop.

The video, and the letter from Mclaughlin, show that Anderson did not surrender, despite orders from deputies. “Show me your hands,” one deputy commands, on the video. “Do it now.”

The narrative and videos show that Anderson was armed with a rifle, and that his movements appeared to the deputies as if he were reaching to load the rifle. A deputy can be heard on the video saying: “He has a rifle. He’s got a rifle.”