AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Police in the Denver metro area have been involved in five officer-involved shootings in the past nine days, with three of those shootings being in Aurora alone.
The first weekend of October saw three separate shootings involving police within the first two days of the month. Before this past weekend, two other officer-involved shootings took place across the metro.
Sept. 24 at Alameda and Galena
A shooting on Sept. 24 was the first of five officer-involved shootings. An incident where officers attempted to make contact with two suspects in a stolen vehicle turned deadly when one of the suspects allegedly threatened officers in the area of Alameda Avenue and Galena Way.
The crime took place in both the Denver and Aurora jurisdictions. Police worked to contact the two suspects in Denver but a pursuit of the duo lead them to Aurora. Two Aurora officers fired shots at one of the suspects. An autopsy report determined the man who died had killed himself. His death was ruled a suicide.
No officers were injured in the shooting.
Sept. 29 in Broomfield
A man wanted on a warrant and who was also a person of interest in a homicide was killed by Denver police officers near Midway Boulevard in Broomfield.
The shooting took place on the afternoon of Sept. 29 after police said the suspect got into a crash and fired shots at Denver officers who attempted to detain him.
One fugitive unit officer was shot in the neck by the suspect but was in stable condition. The suspect was killed after officers returned fire.
Oct. 1 near DIA
The first officer-involved shooting of October took place in Aurora near Denver International Airport. Officers with the Aurora Police Department attempted to make contact with suspects who allegedly robbed a 7-Eleven before leading police on a high-speed chase.
The pursuit ended 12 miles later near the 7400 block of Gun Club Road. The driver of the car was armed with a long gun and allegedly threatened officers.
APD said three officers shot at the man, and the suspect was declared dead at the scene. The second suspect tried to flee but was taken into custody a short time later.
No officers were injured.
Oct. 2 on University Hill in Boulder
An early morning incident in the University Hill neighborhood near the University of Colorado Boulder scared many students living in the area.
Officers with the Boulder Police Department encountered multiple armed individuals actively firing shots on The Hill. One officer shot at one of the suspects and hit him in the arm.
The man was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The three other suspects involved in the shooting fled the scene and are still at large.
No officers were injured.
Oct. 2 on an RTD bus
On the same day as the Boulder shooting, an alleged suspect was shot and killed by police on an RTD bus in Aurora.
The 35-year-old man was part of an Arapahoe County work-release monitored mental health and substance abuse facility program. He was reportedly armed with a large knife when he got on an RTD bus.
A confrontation took place between the man and officers, and that is when two officers fired shots striking and killing the suspect.
No officers were injured in this shooting.
In total, three people were killed by police gunfire and one was injured during these incidents. One officer was injured.
What city community leaders are saying
After the recent string of shootings, a group of community leaders from Denver and Aurora gathered at the Capitol Monday calling for police accountability and transparency.
“How do we truly keep our streets safe, not only safe from those who are criminals, but also how do we keep our streets safe from those who are sworn to protect us?” asked Dr. Robert Davis with the Denver Task Force to Reimagine Policing and Public Safety.
The group now plans to start a statewide task force.
“I think we need to just look at a culture of trigger happiness that pervades our police departments,” Davis said.
The outcome of the investigations and the progression of the task force will be monitored and updated.
FOX31’s Kim Posey contributed to this report.