 Hello, my name is Matt Clark, and I'm a Lieutenant in 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 at 1540 North Meade Street in Northwest Denver on September 12th, 2020. 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. Viewer discretion is advised. On Saturday, September 12th, 2020, around 4.05 in the morning, Adams County Sheriff's Deputy Marcus Knight was in the area of the Circle K Convenience Store at 5810 North Broadway. At the time, Deputy Knight was in full uniform and was driving a Mark Sheriff's Department vehicle. Deputy Knight observed a white Ford Explorer with no license plates parked in the convenience store parking lot. He also observed a male who was later identified as 33-year-old Christopher Escobedo, sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle. Based upon his experience, as well as his knowledge of the recent activity in the area, Deputy Knight suspected the vehicle may be stolen. As Deputy Knight continued watching the vehicle, a female exited the convenience store and entered the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Deputy Knight communicated his observations of the vehicle to Adams County Sheriff's Deputy Matthew Tran, who was nearby. The Ford Explorer was driven out of the parking lot and then southbound on Bannock Street from 58th Avenue. Deputy Tran was directly behind the vehicle as a continued southbound on Bannock Street. Deputy Tran, who was also driving a Mark Sheriff's Department vehicle, activated the emergency lights on his vehicle to initiate a traffic stop based upon the Ford Explorer having no visible license plates. Mr. Escobedo slowed the vehicle, but continued rolling southbound for nearly a quarter of a mile before stopping in the 5300 block of Bannock Street. Deputy Tran exited his vehicle and began approaching the Ford Explorer when Mr. Escobedo rapidly accelerated away, continuing southbound on Bannock Street. Deputy Knight was still in his vehicle and began pursuing the fleeing vehicle with his lights and siren activated. While in pursuit of the vehicle, Deputy Knight observed Mr. Escobedo present a handgun out the driver's door window. The gun was initially pointed in the air. Mr. Escobedo quickly pointed the firearm in the direction of Deputy Knight and fired the weapon twice. The vehicle pursuit continued for 14 minutes, with speeds reaching 90 miles per hour at times. During the pursuit, Mr. Escobedo fired his handgun at the pursuing deputies in the area of 48th Avenue and Fox Street, near Federal and I-70, and possibly while driving on 6th Avenue. At 4.17 a.m., the Denver Combined Communication Center received a 911 call from a female in the passenger seat of the White Ford Explorer. During the brief call, the female frantically advised the call taker that the pursuing deputies needed to back off or the driver was going to shoot her. Mr. Escobedo can be heard yelling in the background of the call. The female passenger related she did not know who the driver was. Deputies considered deploying tactical vehicle intervention techniques to stop the pursuit. The deputies were cautious in their distance they kept from the vehicle because of Mr. Escobedo's willingness to fire at the deputies. In the area of 14th Avenue in Sheridan Boulevard, an Adams County Sheriff's Deputy deployed stop sticks, which made contact with the front and rear passenger tires of the Explorer, causing both to deflate. Mr. Escobedo lost control of the vehicle as he was turning onto eastbound West Canahos Place. He struck a parked vehicle and the vehicle became disabled on the north side of 1540 North Mead Street. When the pursuit ended, there were numerous officers from the Denver Police Department and the Adams County Sheriff's Office present. The female quickly exited the vehicle through the front passenger door and appeared to be trying to move toward one of the Denver Police Officers. Mr. Escobedo quickly followed the female out of the vehicle through the same door. He grabbed the female, put a handgun to her head and started dragging her into the backyard of 1540 Mead Street. Officers and deputies quickly surrounded the residence containing Mr. Escobedo to the backyard. The backyard of the residence was dark, so officers and deputies used flashlights to illuminate the portion of the yard where Mr. Escobedo had taken the female. Though not completely visible, the officers recognized the male was behind a large bush on the south side of the residence. Officers began giving commands for Mr. Escobedo to come out and to drop the handgun. Denver Police Officer Thomas Mowen assumed the primary role of giving commands. This made certain that only one person was providing clear direction to Mr. Escobedo. You need to listen! Come out right now with your hands up! Officer Mowen attempted to de-escalate the situation by working to verbally engage Mr. Escobedo and gain his compliance to peacefully come out from the bushes. The officers moved back to a safer position while making contingency plans and obtaining shields for additional ballistic protection. After approximately one minute and 15 seconds, the female and Mr. Escobedo emerged from behind the bush. The female had her hands raised in the air. Mr. Escobedo was positioned behind her with his left arm around her neck and chest and his right hand holding a handgun to her head. The two slowly walked eastbound through the backyard. Officer Mowen continued to attempt to de-escalate the situation and gain voluntary compliance. While officers were in the backyard of the residence, there were also officers and deputies in the Lowell Meade Street Alley which was on the east side of the residence. From this position, Adams County Sheriff's Deputies Tran and Cory Engle were able to observe Mr. Escobedo and the female hostage through the gaps in the privacy fence. Deputy Engle was armed with an M-4 SWAT rifle and Deputy Tran was armed with his duty handgun. Deputy Engle and Deputy Tran were concerned the situation was deteriorating and believed the female hostage was in immediate danger based upon Mr. Escobedo's actions and statements. Both deputies fired their weapons at Mr. Escobedo. After these shots were fired, Mr. Escobedo dropped to the ground. The female hostage was freed and quickly moved away from Mr. Escobedo towards officers. Officers and deputies positioned in the backyard and in the alley observed Mr. Escobedo continue to move on the ground with immediate access to his firearm. Deputies Engle and Tran fired additional rounds from their position in the alley. Deputy Knight and Denver police officers Shane Magigal and Ramsey Ziranda fired multiple rounds from their duty handguns while positioned in the backyard. All officers stopped firing their weapons when they believed Mr. Escobedo was no longer a threat. Officers and deputies immediately approached Mr. Escobedo and began rendering aid. Paramedics quickly responded to the scene and determined Mr. Escobedo was deceased. The female hostage was assessed and found to be uninjured physically. She cooperated with the investigation. 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. During the scene investigation 58 shell casings fired by the officers and deputies were recovered from the backyard and alley area. While processing the Ford Explorer investigators noted the rear passenger window was broken out. Four spent 45 caliber shell casings and a bag with 45 caliber ammunition were recovered inside the vehicle. In the backyard near Mr. Escobedo's body investigators recovered a 45 caliber Springfield XTM semi-automatic handgun. The gun was loaded with a live round in the chamber and five rounds in the magazine. Two additional magazines each loaded with 13 rounds of 45 caliber ammunition were also recovered near Mr. Escobedo's body. The route of the pursuit was searched by investigators. In the area of 45th Avenue and Federal Boulevard three spent 45 caliber shell casings were recovered. A toxicology report revealed the presence of methamphetamine, amphetamine, morphine, and fentanyl in Mr. Escobedo's system. 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 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. Here is the relevant raw body camera footage that was captured by the involved Denver police officer's body worn cameras. The Adams County Sheriff's deputies involved in this incident were not equipped with body worn cameras. Again, viewer discretion is advised. We need a shield. Somebody's got a shield. Somebody get a shield. This is not what you want to be right now. It's to come out with your hands up. Right here, right here. Back up, Shane. Back up, Shane. Hey, drag, drop you. That's all right, that's all right. You good? Yeah. That's all right. On me, on me. Get ready. Let's go. Let's go. You got him. He's really good. Move, move. Everybody okay? We're good. Holy shit. Thank you very much guys. I'm going to check you, okay? Okay. I don't think I got shot. I think I'm good. I think I'm good. Yeah, I think I'm good, man. We moved up. Hey, everybody okay? Yeah. Do you shoot, Tommy? I did not shoot. All right. We got two shooters for cameras. Yeah. All right. Are you good, Tommy? Yeah, bro. That was wild, dude. Did you get hit? No. I saw you fall back, bro. Yeah, because we... I don't know where that shot went. That was crazy. I don't know where that went either. Hey, bro. Hey, back over there in that field, my fucking radio came out. Okay. Will you go look for it? Yeah, we'll get it. Fuck. Hey, he's still breathing. All right. He's still breathing. CPR. Let's just give him a CPR. Yeah, start CPR. The chain's off. Where's the gun at? The gun's right here. Okay. Just help me out. If you take the chains off, I'll do CPR. Give me some light. All right, buddy. Yeah, I got you. You're going to be all right. Let's go. Give me some light real quick. Nothing else on him, right? No. Give me some light real quick. Give me some light. Was the girl okay? That's good. Yeah, that's good. Hold on. Pull his arm out. Pull his arm out. Nah, I don't think it's... Keep going, keep going. Keep going. Don't stop. Just keep going. Seen secure. Seen secure. He's got a hostage. Got a big down point. 15th and low meat. Car stay on there. Watch your there. Pop this fence right here. Pop this fence. We're on it. Pop this fence on the corner house. Can they host in me? I got one with a gun. You've got a gun to the female's head. We're on blue, blue, blue, background. Watch your there. We're on a crossfire. I'm firing three now. We're in the house. Hey, Seen, back up. Hey, sir. Hey, you're not... This is not... This is not what you want to be right now. The best thing for you is to come out with your hands up. Slow. Get your hands up. Hey, Seen. Put your hands up. Pull back. Seen, pull back. Who's got the rifle? All right. Hey, somebody get gloves on. We got him. We got him. Secure the gun. Get gloves on. Get gloves. Get right here. I got it. I got gloves. I got gloves. Somebody get gloves. Everybody okay? Yeah. You got an ambulance code 10? Yeah. Male party, male party. I'm not breathing. Someone's going to show us. Someone's going to show us. I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. They're on the right, code 10. Cover them, cover them. In the back yard is 15. 40 meters. Yeah, I think I'm good, man. We moved up. Everyone's good. Is everybody okay? No one's hit. Is he dead? Yeah, he's done. But we'll wait for the ambulance. Okay, John. Watch this. I got that. Come on from the west side. All right. Come on back a little bit. Four of Denver's shooters. Right here. All right. Do you shoot? No. Do you shoot, Tommy? I did not shoot. All right. We got two shooters from Denver. Yeah. All right. Come with me. Watch your step. Yeah. Yeah, it's all kind of stuff. All over his caseings. Everybody watch where you're going. Seen secure. Denver police! Drop the weapon! Hey, see if you guys can push forward. See if you can push further back and actually see it. Push back once they push back. Come on, back up. Move back. Move back. Hey, move it. Go get. Go get. Nice shoot. I'm going to get a shield. Somebody got a shield. Pull your car up here. Somebody get a shield. Yeah, I can't see anything either. Sir, hey, this is not what you want to be right now. The best thing for you, show me your hand. Hey, drop your gun right now. This is the best thing for you, dude. I'm telling you. He's down. Somebody get gloves on. Secure the gun. You got the gun secure? Right here, right here, right here. Everyone set. You got an ambulance code 10? Yeah. Got a mag in the back there. Yeah, everyone's fine. All right. Hey, we got that gun right here. All right, watch out for the gun behind you guys here. Somebody stand by with us. Hey, John, watch this gun. Don't step on this. Come on from the west side. All right. You want to step on back a little bit? Four of Denver shooters. Right here. All right. Do you shoot? No. Do you shoot, Tommy? I did not shoot. All right, we got two shooters in Denver. Yeah. All right, come with me. 17th, crossing grain speed is about 60. It looks like they have at least one plot tire. This is my heart's fire fighting. Southbound Oseola from 17, currently 30. From Newton, from 16th. Still low speeds, approximately 20. Nope, southbound. Are they going south, Tana? You see them? Where's he at? All right, we're here. We're at 16th and Lowell Mead. We've got him at gunpoint. Somebody has a long gun. That'd be helpful right now. Watch your crossfire. All right, we're good. Hold up, hold up. Line of fire is west. Drop the fucking gun. What's the address? Hey. Denver police. Drop the weapon. One person talk right now. We don't need 18 people talk. He's on the lead. He's talking. Hey, this is the Denver police. Communicating right now. Yeah, guys, push right. Hey, stop moving. Hey, uh-oh. Stop moving right now. Keep talking, keep talking. Get some cover over here. Pull some cars up. Hey, pull the car up. Pull the car up. Last house locked down, too. Everybody back up. Now with you, Knight. Let's go. Come on, back up. Move back, move back. Ludwig, go get Knight's shield out of this car now. And pull your car up here. Somebody do the shield. Yeah, yeah. Hey, I'm going to go get a long gun. They're talking to him. They're okay, all of us. They're okay. Somebody. Put that down. All right, buddy. Yeah. Denver 468. Confirm that we should have anything else to do. They've got one. They've got one. Since Q16050. The Denver District Attorney's Office 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 Barrel and Conduct Review Barrel 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 demvergov.org slash police. Thank you for taking the time to view this critical incident briefing.