 Good, all right. Good afternoon. My name is Matt Clark. I'm a lieutenant with the Denver Police Department's major crimes division I appreciate you coming today and allowing me an opportunity to provide an overview of the recent police officer-involved shootings that have occurred in Denver I will be able to provide detailed information on two incidents The one at Tenton Inca that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th and the one in the 1500 block of North Mead that occurred on Saturday, September 12th I'll also give a brief overview of the incident that occurred in the 2400 block of South Colorado Last night, but that investigation is in its infancy and I won't be able to get into too much detail on that one This is intended to be a preliminary briefing based upon information that we've gathered after interviewing Witnesses speaking with the officers and analyzing evidence recovered from the scene These investigations are in their early stages and there may be questions that I might not be able to answer I'd like to start with the first incident on Wednesday, September 9th 2020 that occurred in the area of Tent Avenue and Inca Street at about 5 20 p.m On Wednesday, September 9th at 5 12 p.m Denver's 911 Communication Center received a call from an individual advising a male was walking eastbound on Tent Avenue from Santa Fe pointing a gun at people in the area Following this call multiple additional calls were received by the 911 Communication Center reporting similar behavior with the same subject These callers also reported that the individual was pointing a gun at people as well as passing motorists Denver police officers were promptly dispatched to the area While responding additional 911 calls were received these callers related similar descriptions in Total 15 911 calls were received by the dispatch center regarding this individual with the weapon The weapon was described by many of the callers as a black or silver handgun The first officers arrived in the area of Tent Avenue and Inca Street nine minutes later at 5 21 p.m These officers are uniform patrol officers who are working in the two officer assignment driving an unmarked Denver police vehicle The officers observed the individual that was described by the numerous 911 callers When they saw him he was standing in front of a vehicle that was parked eastbound on the south curb line The subject was standing directly in front of that vehicle He had his right arm raised and had a handgun pointing directly at two occupants that were in the vehicle The officers gave the subject a verbal command and it was at this point that he became aware of their presence The subject turned his attention towards the officers who were to his east And he began walking towards them with his right arm extended and a handgun pointed at the officers This gave an opportunity for the two individuals in the black vehicle That was parked to flee the passenger fled to the south and the driver was able to flee to the north as The subject continued walking towards the officers with the handgun pointed the officers feared for their safety The subject had previously disregarded their commands The officers both discharged their weapons and struck the suspect He fell to the ground at that point The officers immediately stopped shooting their weapons upon recognizing the subject was no longer a threat The officers promptly called for an ambulance to respond and approach the suspect They secured him and began to assess his medical needs That individual was transported to Denver health medical center and was later pronounced deceased None of the officers in this incident were injured At the scene investigators recovered a black airsoft gun This gun is a realistic replica of a Glock 17 semi-automatic handgun Of a picture of that momentarily to show The officers involved in this incident were equipped with body-worn cameras And their cameras were activated upon their arrival and throughout the interaction with the subject In addition to the 15 911 callers regarding the subjects Reporting the subject behavior there were multiple witnesses interviewed as part of this investigation And these included the two individuals that were in the black suv That the subject was seen standing in front of Both of these occupants reported the subject was attempting to steal their car at gunpoint And they were confident that the handgun that the subject possessed was a functioning firearm In regards to the officers the two officers involved in this incident were both uniformed officers Wearing a standard Denver police uniform again driving an unmarked police suv Both officers are assigned to the department's citywide impact team One officer started in 2013 and the other in 2015 And neither officer has been involved in a prior police shooting incident As per our standard protocol both officers will be on a modified duty status At this point The subject's been identified by the Denver medical examiner as Antonio Blackbear His date of birth is February 18th of 1979 The investigation of this critical incident is being conducted by the Denver and Aurora police departments as well as the Denver district attorney's office The investigation will be monitored by the office of the independent monitor, which is a civilian oversight entity I would encourage anyone on this incident or any of the incidents we speak of if they have information or video of the incident to contact the Denver police department Or crime stoppers I'd like to I'll show a couple Scenes shots that were taken from the scene or from surveillance cameras that we captured And then I'll be able to answer any questions This is a picture that was recovered from surveillance video at a nearby car repair shop What we're seeing Is the subject who's highlighted in the red standing in front of a vehicle a black suv parked on the south curb line The subject has his right arm extended Uh, and he has a handgun. It is difficult and grainy to see but when the vehicle is excuse me when the video is running in motion It's it's more clear the Denver police vehicles in the top right portion It's the police suv in the top right of the screen As I described the officers announced their presence and gave him a verbal command which he turned his attention towards the officers This is another video that was captured It depicts the subject walking towards the officers His arm right arm extended and the handgun in his hand pointed towards the officer's vehicle Which is on the corner of 10th avenue and Inca street The handgun that was recovered was an airsoft gun. It's a glock 17 replica. It's stamped with glock insignia it looks exactly like a Functioning glock 17 handgun would appear At this point I can answer any questions on this incident before we move on It is not a firearm with a firing pin and a Striking a primer like a typical firearm a handgun would This is meant to look exactly like that functioning firearm would look That gun would be capable Of shooting like a pellet or a BB type Of round Any other questions before I move on anybody on teams The next incident I'd like to discuss occurred on saturday september 12th 2020 How quick is that okay? Okay Give me just one minute okay The next incident occurred on saturday september 12th 2020 at approximately 424 in the morning in the 1500 block of north mead street This incident started With deputies from the adams county sheriff's department who were conducting routine patrol in the area 58th avenue and i-25 Deputy was in the parking lot of the circle k convenience store at that location when he observed an older model white fort explorer In a parking space with no visible license plates on the rear of the vehicle The deputy monitored the vehicle and watched it as it exited On to out of the parking lot and onto broadway going southbound At approximately 406 in the morning adams county deputies followed the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop in the 5600 block of broadway The driver initially pulled over to the curbside and stopped the vehicle as the deputy was exiting his vehicle the driver promptly Accelerated away southbound from the from the traffic stop adams county deputies pursued the vehicle as he fled southbound Shortly after the pursuit was initiated the driver flashed a handgun in the air with his left hand out the driver's door window And moments later after pulling that gun back into the vehicle. He then Pointed it back out the window at toward excuse me towards the pursuing deputies and fired multiple shots the pursuit Continued with adams county deputies. They notified the denver police department. The pursuit continued for 14 minutes concluding in the area of kaneho's place and mead street at 4 20 in the morning It was reported that speeds during the pursuit reached 90 miles per hour Along the pursuit route there were several significant events to highlight The first two shots that were fired by the driver Occurred shortly after the vehicle fled the traffic stop in approximately the 55 or 5400 block of broadway The driver fired additional shots at the pursuing deputies in the areas of 48th avenue and fox street In the area southbound federal boulevard near i-70 and possibly on 6th avenue and i-25 At 4 17 in the morning 11 minutes into the pursuit a female passenger called 911 That call was rounded to the denver communication center The female caller was frantic and reported the police were chasing her She told the call taker that the male driver was going to shoot her if the police did not back away In the call the call taker could hear the man screaming The officers recognized the danger created by the the vehicle pursuit and worked to employ four-stop methods to quickly terminate the pursuit Officers attempted to box the vehicle in near 6th avenue and shared in boulevard But this effort was unsuccessful The subject drove around the pursuit or excuse me the blocked vehicles and continued northbound on shared in boulevard In the area of 14th avenue and shared in boulevard adams county deputies attempted to deploy stop sticks Stopsticks are tire deflation devices that are meant to slow and incapacitate a vehicle to end or terminate a pursuit The stop stick deployment was successful and appears to have deflated the tires on the passenger side of the vehicle The subject continued driving on the now flattened tires As he went into the residential residential neighborhood just south of slone's lake While making a turn from southbound mead onto eastbound kinae hosts the subject lost control of his vehicle It appears he was unable to negotiate the left hand turn there He struck a parked vehicle went up on the curb and came to rest on a tree In and the residency yard in the southeast corner of kinaeos and mead When the driver stopped the vehicle the female exited the vehicle through her passenger door the male followed her out through the same door As she was attempting to get away from the vehicle the male grabbed her and he continued to maintain Control of her by wrapping his left arm around her chest and neck while holding the handgun to her head with his right hand The male positioned himself between Him and the officers using her as a human shield The two walked eastbound and entered the backyard of the residents on the southeast corner of kinaeos street and mead street through an opening in the fence Adams county deputies and Denver police officers set up around the residents and determined that the female and male had Moved to the south side of the residents and were positioned behind a bush The officers began issuing verbal commands and the male refused to comply with those commands The officers transitioned their verbal approach and began working to deescalate the situation At one point the officers repositioned backing away from the subject while maintaining visual and verbal contact with the male After approximately one minute and 40 seconds of verbal communication The male emerged holding the female in the same manner with his left arm around her chest and neck and a handgun to her head with his right hand The two slowly walked through the yard to the east end of the yard The officers remained calm and continued their efforts to deescalate the situation at this point When the male was near the east fence line, he appeared to be agitated and began making statements indicating he would kill himself An adams county sheriff's deputy was positioned in the alley to the east and recognized the situation was not getting better He knew the female was in extreme jeopardy given the suicidal statements the male was now making This deputy fired one round at the suspect the suspect fell to the ground and the female was able to free herself from the male's control She moved to the west and was out of the out of the way of the male at that point The male continued moving. Uh, he fell to the ground. He continued moving He was still in possession holding the handgun And had it pointed towards officers who were to his north set a position to the north At this time four additional officers two adams county deputies and two denver police officers Fired their weapons The officers immediately called for an ambulance and moved towards the subject to assess him and provide him aid The subject was pronounced deceased at the scene The female was removed from the scene by officers and was found to be unharmed None of the officers involved in this incident were injured In total five officers Discharged their weapons three adams county deputies and two denver police officers Investigators recovered a total of 51 shell casings at the scene of this incident Next to the suspect uh subject The investigators recovered a loaded springfield xdm 45 calibers to my automatic handgun There was an additional magazine with ammunition for that firearm recovered as well There's no evidence at this point That the subject discharged his weapon while in the backyard of the residents at kanehose and mead street Investigators completed a search of the subject's vehicle and recovered four spent shell casings inside Efforts were made to locate shell casings along the pursuit route as well And they recovered Three shell casings in the area of 45th and federal boulevard, which is just south of i-70 where the deputies reported being shot at The denver police officers involved in this incident were equipped with body-worn cameras and their cameras were activated throughout the interaction with the male subject Adams county deputies are not equipped with body-worn cameras In regards to the officers there are two denver police officers were wearing full denver police uniforms and driving marked police vehicles Both officers were assigned are assigned to the patrol division One officer was hired in 2017 the other in 2018 Neither officer has been involved in a prior police shooting incident Both of these officers will be on a modified duty status In regards to the adams county deputies all three deputies were uniform patrol deputies driving marked adams county sheriff's office vehicles One was hired in 2013 another 2014 And the last in 2018 None of these deputies had been in a prior police involved shooting The individual involved in the shooting Was identified by the medical examiner as christopher Escobedo es c o b e d o His date of birth is march 16th of 1987 and this investigation is following the same protocol As the one i previously described i'll show a brief screenshot from The body-worn camera in this incident This is in the backyard of the residents on the southeast corner of cannejo and mead street. This is after the officers have Worked to de-escalate the situation to gain compliance from the subject. He is The female is in front in the red. He's behind her wearing a white t-shirt On the right side of her head. You can see the black object coming down at an angle. That is his handgun His arm is wrapped around her chest and neck area Officers recovered a springfield xdm 45 caliber Firearm with another magazine that had 45 caliber ammunition loaded in it as well I can answer any questions you may have on this incident Yes, ma'am. Go ahead Our officers We did have Denver police officers in marked vehicles as part of the line of vehicles at no point where they Close to the suspect though. They were farther back And that any other questions Before I move on to the third incident The final incident again, I just qualify this to say it's it's uh in the preliminary stage of the investigation I won't be able to get into too much detail But to provide provide an overview this incident occurred on Tuesday, september 15th 2020 at approximately 10 34 in the evening At that time a call was received by the denver communications center to From an individual at 24 99 south color brought a boulevard regarding a male who had a gun Uniformed officers from district three responded They located the male in the 2400 block of south colorado boulevard several minutes after the initial call As the officers were talking with the male from a distance They recognized the grip of a handgun protruding from the pants that the male was wearing The officers began to give him verbal commands, which he disregarded At one point the subject grabbed the handgun and removed it from his pocket Which time denver police officers discharged their handguns multiple times The officers immediately called for an ambulance and began rendering medical aid The subject was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased At the scene investigators recovered a loaded black glock 17 semi-automatic handgun Three denver police officers were involved in this incident. They're all assigned to the patrol division in district three They were wearing standard denver police uniforms and driving marked denver police vehicles Two of the officers were hired in 2013. The other was hired in 2020 These officers as well will be on a modified duty status Again, I'm extremely limited in the questions I'll be able to answer in detail as we have not completed all of the interviews with the officers yet And the denver office of the medical examiner has not Provided me with the identity of the suspect I will show you a scene photo of the Glock 17 semi-automatic handgun that we recovered in the roadway in the 2400 block of south color de boulevard Are there any questions related to this incident that I can answer? Yeah, at this point all that I Can speak to is that he removed it from his pocket We still need to complete interviews with the officers to know exactly what they saw I can't at this point once we get more information from the officers is what their perception and what what their What they observed there them them will know more information But this this soon into the investigation those interviews have not been completed. I do not have that information And just to make sure I've given enough time. Does anybody else have any additional questions on that incident? Go ahead, sir We've been getting more and more questions on that at the onset of these investigations I believe chief thomas was just trying to relay the information to be transparent from the onset I would imagine if the subject's race is readily identifiable that we would be able to do that Thank you