Aurora police held a press conference on Friday to release body-worn video showing an officer fatally shooting 14-year-old Jor’Dell Richardson after he fled from police investigating suspicious activity.
According to police, on June 1, officers pursued a group of teenagers who ran away from a convenience store near the intersection of East Eighth Avenue and Dayton Street. A gang sergeant on patrol noticed the group and called for backup because the teens were wearing medical masks and sweatshirts, a police department news release said. Police arrested two teenagers and others fled in a car that police said had been stolen.
Two officers chased Richardson, who was armed, down an alley. According to police, one of the officers shot Richardson “during a struggle to bring him into custody”.
After the shooting, investigators determined that at least one of the teens threatened the convenience store clerk with a gun and that they took several vape cartridges, police said.
The officer was placed on paid administrative leave while the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team investigates the shooting.
Richardson’s family members and their attorneys viewed the footage at Aurora Police Headquarters on Tuesday, police officials and family representatives said. State law requires law enforcement to wait 72 hours after showing body camera footage to the family of a person killed by police before releasing it to the public.
Richardson’s family last week called the police to release the videos and said the 14-year-old had never had any problems with the police. He had just finished his eighth year.
Sign up to receive daily crime news straight to your inbox.
denverpost
