 Hello, my name is Matt Clark, and I'm the commander of the Denver Police Department's Major Crimes Division. This critical incident debriefing is intended to provide you with information regarding an officer-involved shooting that occurred in the area of 1st Avenue and Perry Street in Southwest Denver on Friday, May 14, 2021. You are about to see relevant video footage and learn about other evidence and police procedures related to the case so you have an understanding of the details of this incident. The use of deadly force by a police officer demands a thorough investigation be completed. The Denver Police Department is committed to ensuring a full and timely investigation of these serious incidents. This allows for a comprehensive examination of the officer's actions to determine compliance with state statutes and department policies. In accordance with legislation passed in 2015, the investigation of police shootings in Denver are conducted by a multi-agency investigative team made up of members of the Denver and Aurora Police Department homicide units, as well as the Denver District Attorney's Office. All critical incident investigations are actively monitored by the Office of the Independent Monitor. Throughout this briefing, portions of body camera video and surveillance video obtained during the investigation will be shown to provide context and detail. All officers assigned to uniform patrol duties in Denver have been issued body worn cameras. These devices are generally worn at chest level by patrol officers and are capable of recording both audio and video. Prior to being activated by the officer, the body worn camera maintains a 30-second video buffer. Once the officer activates the camera, the 30-second video buffer is captured and the camera starts recording both audio and video. It is important to note that a body worn camera captures a general perspective of what is in the camera's view, however, this footage may or may not be what the officer actually saw or perceived. At times, an officer's movement or hand positioning may inadvertently block the camera's view. Additionally, the camera may not capture light in the same way as an officer's eye. A word of caution, the images and information you are about to see may be disturbing. When a police officer uses force to arrest a suspect or defend against an attack, it can be graphic and difficult to watch. In addition, there may be strong language used by those shown in the video. Viewer discretion is advised. On Friday, May 14, 2021, at approximately 4.15 pm, the Denver Police Department received multiple 9-1-1 calls regarding an individual firing a handgun at people in the area of the apartment complex at 4404 Morrison Road. Hi, I'm on Morrison and Ohio Aksy's Del Corazon apartment. There's a guy running around without a shirt and he has a gun. There's a guy with a gun running around with no shirt and the parking lot of the apartment complex is where I live. He's holding these people with the gun. Everybody just shot at one of them. It was reported that the male who was later identified as 22-year-old Cedric Vick ran through a playground while holding a handgun. Mr. Vick also confronted a street vendor at gunpoint and threatened to kill him. The street vendor abandoned his cart and fled the area. Mr. Vick went into a parking lot and approached a woman with a child. Mr. Vick aimed his firearm in the direction of the woman and discharged around at her. The woman ran from the parking lot with her child and fled the area. Neither were injured. Mr. Vick then approached a woman who was standing outside of her vehicle. Mr. Vick confronted her and demanded her vehicle at gunpoint. At the time, the victim's young grandchild was secured in a child seat in the back of the vehicle. The victim feverishly worked to remove the toddler so Mr. Vick could have the vehicle. As she was doing this, Mr. Vick discharged one round at the woman. The victim removed the toddler and ran for safety while Mr. Vick took possession of the vehicle. Neither the victim nor the toddler were injured. Mr. Vick drove out of the apartment complex and began traveling northbound on South Quitman Street towards Morrison Road. Based upon the nature of the 911 calls, multiple Denver police officers responded to the area. Mr. Vick disregarded the stop sign at the intersection of Morrison Road and Quitman Street and proceeded through the intersection at a high rate of speed. This caught the attention of officers John Shaw and Jesse Trudell, who were traveling southbound on Morrison Road. The uniformed officers were on a marked Denver police vehicle, driving directly behind Mr. Vick. The officers activated their emergency overhead lights and siren. Mr. Vick showed no intention of yielding to the officers, so a vehicle pursuit was initiated and authorized by a supervisor. While traveling northbound in the 500 block of South Quitman Street, Mr. Vick reached out of the driver's side of the vehicle and discharged around in the direction of the pursuing officers. The Denver Police Department recognizes that vehicle pursuits are inherently dangerous to the community, the officers involved, and the subject being pursued. During a vehicle pursuit, officers and police supervisors must actively examine the risks created by the pursuit and balance that with the need to immediately apprehend the individual being pursued. In this case, Mr. Vick had committed multiple violent felonies with a deadly weapon, and the officers were concerned that if he was not apprehended, he would cause serious harm or kill someone with the weapon. The officers continued pursuing Mr. Vick as he drove through the Barnum neighborhood west of Federal Boulevard. The pursuit lasted just over four and a half minutes and covered two and three-quarter miles. During the pursuit, speeds reached 60 miles per hour, and Mr. Vick caused two collisions along the pursuit route. Ultimately, Mr. Vick drove southbound on Perry Street and lost control of his vehicle as he attempted to make a left turn onto eastbound First Avenue. His excessive speed prohibited him from safely negotiating the turn. The vehicle Mr. Vick was driving jumped the south curb and struck a retaining wall on the southeast corner of First Avenue and Perry Street. Several uniformed Denver Police officers arrived immediately following the collision and took positions around the vehicle. Mr. Vick opened the door of the vehicle and exited. He was observed acting erratically, waving his arms and kicking his legs. He then sat in the driver's seat and continued his erratic behavior while also reaching around the vehicle. At one point, Mr. Vick threw a metal water bottle from the vehicle. After closing the door of the vehicle, he suddenly produced a handgun and pointed it in the direction of the uniformed officers. Mr. Vick fired his weapon at officers at least two times. In response, Denver Police officers Joshua Catlett, Justin Kennedy, Shane Magigal, John McAndrews, Eduardo Madero, Manchitna Phanpatra, John Shaw, and Jesse Trudell discharged their weapons multiple times at Mr. Vick. The officers stopped shooting when they believed Mr. Vick was no longer a threat. Officers tactically approached the vehicle using a ballistic shield and removed Mr. Vick from the vehicle. An ambulance promptly arrived and transported Mr. Vick to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased. Following a police shooting, any officers involved in the incident are separated and assigned to a supervisor once a situation is stabilized. Involved officers remain in the company of the assigned supervisor throughout the initial investigation of the incident. Through the investigation, it was determined that nine Denver Police officers fired a total of 109 rounds, approximately seven seconds elapsed from the time the first shot was fired until the last shot was fired. Investigators searched the stolen Honda and located a black 45 caliber semi-automatic Glock 21 handgun. There were no rounds in the chamber and the magazine was empty. In the vehicle, detectives located two spent 45 caliber shell casings. When examining the additional locations that were involved in this incident, investigators located two 45 caliber spent shell casings in the 4400 block of West Ohio Avenue. This was near the location where Mr. Vick was initially spotted by the 911 callers. Additionally, one spent 45 caliber shell casing was recovered in the 500 block of South Quitman Street near the location where Mr. Vick fired around at pursuing officers. The spent shell casings that were recovered in the vehicle and those recovered at the other scenes were forensically linked to the firearm Mr. Vick possessed. Near First Avenue in Perry Street, crime scene technicians located two bullet defects that were north of the officers and would have been consistent with the direction that Mr. Vick was shooting his gun as he shot at the officers. One bullet defect was found in the front door of the residence on the northeast corner of First Avenue in Perry Street and the other was located in the driver's side taillight of a vehicle that was behind the officers. Gunshot residue tests were performed on Mr. Vick's hands. The analysis revealed the presence of gunshot primer residue particles. The Denver District Attorney will review the details of this incident and determine if the officer's actions were in compliance with Colorado law. After the district attorney renders a decision, the Denver Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau and Conduct Review Bureau will complete an administrative review of this case. The details of the case will be presented to a use of force review board which is made up of community members and police command officers. This board will determine whether the actions of the Denver police officers were in compliance with the high standards expected of every Denver police officer related to policies, training and tactics. For additional information regarding the investigation of critical incidents or the Denver Police Department's use of force policies, you may visit denvergov.org slash police. Thank you for taking the time to view this critical incident briefing.