DENVER — The man killed by Denver police in Aurora on Monday has been identified as 25-year-old Nico Descheenie. The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner released his name Thursday afternoon.
Descheenie was shot by at least one Denver officer near Interstate 225 and East Iliff Avenue Monday evening.
DPD said the incident started near South Federal Boulevard and West Cedar Avenue, where officers located a stolen vehicle.
Officers followed the stolen vehicle to I-225 and Iliff.
“He pulled over. We’re not sure why he pulled over and why he chose the location,” DPD Division Chief Ron Thomas said during a press conference Monday night.
DPD says the shooting occurred when Descheenie got out of the vehicle and confronted officers. He was armed with a gun, DPD said.
“I can just tell you that he did engage officers at the point of the stop,” Thomas said.
Descheenie was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 6:30 p.m. Monday.
DPD said there was no pursuit before the shooting.
“There was not a pursuit. This was just a stolen vehicle. This isn’t something that we would authorize a pursuit for,” Thomas said.
Descheenie was the only person in the vehicle.
DPD said there were some unmarked patrol vehicles involved. None of the police vehicles had their lights and sirens on while following Descheenie.
Thomas said following suspects into neighboring jurisdictions does occasionally happen.
“It does happen, but obviously there’s protocols in place where we notify the receiving jurisdiction so that they can provide some cover and support,” he said.
No officers were injured during the incident.
The shooting remains under investigation.