 Hello, my name is Matt Clark, and I am 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 8800 block of East Colfax Avenue in Northeast Denver on Sunday, June 13, 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 from 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. 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. Your discretion is advised. On Sunday, June 13, 2021, at approximately 5.30pm, an individual called 9-1-1 to report a male was firing a handgun at a white Mercedes that was parked in the 1500 block of North Ulster Street. The caller provided a description of the male, who was later identified as 30-year-old Dwayne Manzaneras. What's the address of your emergency? All right. This guy was shooting at a white Mercedes. Come on and call back when you're in it. It's a Hispanic male with a gray shirt, gray or blue jeans. He's about the age between 25 and 30. Uniform Denver Police officers promptly responded and located the described vehicle on Ulster Street. Upon examining the vehicle and the surrounding area, officers located multiple bullet shell casings and bullet defects in the Mercedes. An officer met with the 9-1-1 caller and confirmed the information that had been provided. The witness provided a description of Mr. Manzaneras and advised he was walking eastbound on Colfax. While an officer remained with the witness to obtain additional information, other uniform patrol officers began driving in the area attempting to locate Mr. Manzaneras. Officer Ryan Nelson and Officer Christine Abrams were working together in a marked Denver Police vehicle. The two officers were traveling westbound on East Colfax Avenue when they observed Mr. Manzaneras walking eastbound. Mr. Manzaneras was on the south side of the street approaching Yosemite Street. Officer Abrams observed the grip of a handgun sticking out of the back of Mr. Manzaneras' waistband. The observation of the firearm was communicated to her partner and to other responding officers. Around that time, uniformed officers Samuel Bailey and Stephen Whiteman arrived in the area in a marked Denver Police vehicle. Both officers observed Mr. Manzaneras and recognized he matched the description of the subject. The officers saw the firearm tucked into the right rear side of Mr. Manzaneras' waistband. The officers made a U-turn and positioned their vehicles in the eastbound lanes of East Colfax Avenue to contact Mr. Manzaneras. When officers contacted Mr. Manzaneras, he was standing on the sidewalk just west of Yosemite Street at the entrance to a parking lot. The officers exited their vehicles and drew their duty handguns directing them towards Mr. Manzaneras. Mr. Manzaneras began consuming alcohol from a small container he was carrying and questioned why he was being contacted. Put your hands up! Officers gave clear direction to Mr. Manzaneras to keep his hands up and put his hands on his head so his hands would not be near the visible firearm. Mr. Manzaneras did not comply with this direction. Officer Whiteman verbally acknowledged the presence of Mr. Manzaneras' firearm as he attempted to direct Mr. Manzaneras' movements and de-escalate the situation. Mr. Manzaneras became agitated and argumentative. You got a gun right there! Don't reach for it! Mr. Manzaneras discarded the bottle of alcohol he consumed onto the street. He then moved his right hand towards his waist while moving his left hand behind his back. The officers feared Mr. Manzaneras was retrieving the firearm to shoot at them or others in the immediate area. At that time, officer Samuel Bailey, officer Ryan Nelson, and officer Stephen Whiteman discharged their weapons multiple times. The officers stopped firing their weapons when they believed Mr. Manzaneras no longer posed a threat. Several of the rounds that were fired struck Mr. Manzaneras and he fell to the ground. Officers approached Mr. Manzaneras, removed the firearm from his waistband, and began rendering medical aid to include the application of multiple tourniquets and pressure to his wounds. Mr. Manzaneras was transported to a local hospital by ambulance where he was pronounced deceased. Following a police shooting, any officers involved in the incident are separated and assigned to a supervisor once the 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 the three officers fired a total of eleven rounds. A round fired by an officer struck the tire of a vehicle that was parked in the parking lot of the restaurant. Unbeknownst to the officers, this vehicle was occupied by two individuals at the time of the shooting. Neither occupant was injured by the round that struck the tire. Investigators processed the initial scene at Ulster Street and recovered four 45-caliber shell casings near the vehicle. Additionally, multiple defects were documented in the vehicle. The firearm that was recovered from Mr. Manzaneras was an H&K, USP, 45-caliber semi-automatic handgun with one round in the chamber and six bullets in the magazine. 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 thirty-second video buffer. Once the officer activates the camera, the thirty-second buffer video 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. All three involved officers were wearing body-worn cameras and had them activated during their interaction with Mr. Manzaneras. Here is the relevant, raw body-camera footage that was captured by the involved Denver police officer's body-worn cameras. Again, viewer discretion is advised. Put your hands up! Hey, backdrop, Nelson. Get back! Get back! Put your hands on top! I don't want to shoot you! I don't want to shoot you! Hey, I don't want to shoot you, bud! Listen, put your hands on your head! I don't want to shoot you! You got a gun right there! Don't reach for it! No! No! Hands out to the side! Hands out to the side! Hands out to the side, buddy! Is anybody down? You ready? You ready? Hey, I got hands! I got hands! I got hands on! Get this fucking... I got hands on, hold them and get some gloves. You don't see that, 74 and 4. Get the fucking gun! Hold on, hold on. I'll get some starting cuts now. Step back right side. Get up there and roll it. Hey, you got that handle? You got gloves here. Throw me a tourniquet. Anybody got a tourniquet on? High shot. Four. You got four. Do you need another tourniquet? Can we pack any of his chest? Yeah, she's got fucking wounded there. She's got some scoots. Starting to get some leakage out of there. All right, when she takes his cuffs off, we'll go. Let's roll them back over. Just a minute. Let me get this other cup over here. Nelson, you good? Yeah, we'll come back. Hey, he's got a wound in the arm. Let's get the fucking cuffs off. This you take. Try to get it. Put it up here as high as you can. It's up right here. I'm here for a senior cold pack. He's found in Yosemite and cold packs. Don't have any cars able to assist with that. We also are going to help some other districts. And 240 and cold packs. The gunshot wound right there as well. Yeah. Hey, Sars, time on the cad for two tourniquets. Give it up. Give it up. Fuck off. All right, glasses up for me. Hey, give me some more gauze. I'm going to try to pack this leg wound. Hey, who's going to ride? We need to stay here. You guys get a pulse. Hey, pulse, at least four GSWs. I'm her senior in May, though. Yep, I'm going in May. Bus code, we've got seizures. Bus 10. We've got seizures in the car. You OK? You need to start putting up tape. Let's do a... Let's do this. I don't want to get them stuck in the scene. We'll do a... We'll see what we'll hold off for now. I just want to hang out here so nobody comes this way. Who's riding down? Where's your phone? He's found cold packs. We're good sources. She's here. Put your hands up. Put your hands up. Put them up. Put your hands up. Hey, put your hands up. Put your hands in the air. Put your hands in the air. I don't want to shoot you. Put your hands in the air. I don't want to shoot you. You got a gun right there. Go reach for it. Put your hands in the air. Shots fired, shots fired. Hands out to the side. Hands out to the side, buddy. Ready to move up? I got hands. Get this fucking... Starting to get some lead. He's got a wound in the arm. Anything else? Yeah, we got to sit here. You guys got a pulse? You got anything? Faint pulse. Yes, you'll have one. Shots fired. Hey, let me know when you're ready. Weapons on the left. Weapons on the left. I got hands. Get this fucking... Get the fucking gun. Hold on, hold on. Back right side. We got a medical kid in the back of this. Hey guys, here. Throw me a tourniquet. Anybody got a tourniquet on? I shot. I shot. We can get on the coffin. You need another tourniquet? Can we pack any of his chest? Yes, he's got a wound in the chest. Starting to get some leakage out of that. Let's roll him back over. Watch his head. Hey, he's got a wound in the arm too. Let's get a fucking tourniquet in that. Here. You got it? We're going to have to get it as high as we can. It's up right in this fucking arm. Stay with us, buddy. There was one in the chamber. Yeah, we got to stay here. Hey Paul, so at least four GSW wounds. Rolling this way. One up here, one right underneath the tourniquet. Are you riding? 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 the 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 debriefing.