Denver District Attorney Explains Decision Not to File Charges After Fatal Police Shooting

DENVER – Denver District Attorney Beth McCann on Wednesday announced her decision not to file charges against three police officers who shot and killed a man in June.

On June 16, at around 11:44 a.m., officers were called to the intersection of Broadway and Lawrence Street because a person was standing there holding a knife. Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said officers confronted the person and ordered them to drop the knife, but they refused and approached officers.

After at least two taser attempts, three officers opened fire and fatally shot the person, Thomas said.

The person killed was identified as 52-year-old Miguel Tapia. The person had previously been identified as a woman by Denver police and during a subsequent press conference, she was described as a transgender person. In her decision letter, McCann said Tapia “appeared to be a woman at the time of the incident, but the medical examiner identified him as a man.”

The district attorney stated in her letter: “Because we do not know how the individual wishes to be identified or addressed, we are referring to Tapia as 'he/him.'”

During the press conference, Denver Police Commander Matt Clark said the incident began when several motorists reported a person standing in the intersection.

“A caller reported that the person was yelling at passing motorists to kill them,” Clark said.

He said a park ranger nearby in Denver saw Tapia and alerted police that “the person had a knife with an eight-inch blade in a pocket.”

“When officers arrived, the suspect was carrying several bags but did not have a weapon in his hand,” Clark said. “Officers were able to see the handle of what appeared to be a large knife in a bag that the subject was carrying over his shoulder.”

Clark said officers tried to de-escalate the situation by speaking both English and Spanish.

“An officer also made it visually clear that he wanted the subject to place their hands on their head,” Clark said. “The offender did not comply with the officer's instruction and instead retrieved the large knife from the shoulder bag he was carrying. The offender held the knife in his right hand and pointed it – the tip of the knife – directly at the officers.”

The department released bodycam video showing the sequence before the fatal shooting.

On Wednesday, McCann told reporters that the use of lethal force against Tapia was justified.

“I thought it was reasonable for the officers to believe that Mr. Tapia was about to commit a knife attack or something worse,” McCann said.

McCann believed the officers were in imminent danger of being killed or injured.

“After the Tasers failed to take effect, they had no time to do anything other than use deadly force,” she said.