DENVER (AP) - Prosecutors have cleared of criminal wrongdoing three Denver police officers who opened fire at two men after a high-speed car chase and erroneously believed the passenger was an escaped inmate.
The Denver Post reports Denver District Attorney Beth McCann has determined the officers were justified in killing 27-year-old Steven Lee Nguyen and injuring 24-year-old Rafael Landeros Jr. in March.
Police were searching for escapee Mauricio Venzor-Gonzalez, who was considered armed and dangerous. The department’s fugitive unit had wrongly identified Nguyen as the escapee, leading to a car chase from Aurora into Denver. Landeros was driving the car.
McCann says in a letter to the Denver police chief that Landeros’ actions posed a threat to the public and to the officers who were trying to apprehend them.
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Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com
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