 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 in the 2400 block of South Colorado Boulevard on Tuesday, September 15th, 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 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. 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 Tuesday, September 15, 2020, at approximately 10.30 p.m., a female called the Denver Police Department's non-emergency line and provided second-hand information regarding an intoxicated subject with a handgun in the parking lot of the apartment complex at 2499 South Colorado Boulevard. The caller explained that her family observed a handgun fall out of the subject's pants. She expressed concern that the subject with the handgun may hurt himself as he seemed to be in distress. My brother and my brother-in-law and my grandpa were downstairs outside. Nothing happened but there was a guy out there that he was visibly impaired. He tried to hug everybody and then a gun fell out of his pants. District 3 patrol officers were promptly dispatched to the call. When the officers arrived at the apartment complex, a bystander standing on his balcony advised the officers that the subject had walked northeast from the location. Officers located the described male in the 2400 block of South Colorado Boulevard on the east side of the street. The officers observed the subject was staggering and appeared to be intoxicated as he walked across Colorado Boulevard to the west side of the street. This person was later determined to be 22-year-old Mack McPherson. When officers approached Mr. McPherson, he was on the sidewalk in front of a small strip mall at 2401 South Colorado Boulevard. Since Mr. McPherson was believed to be armed, the officers parked their police vehicles against traffic in the southbound lanes of South Colorado Boulevard with their emergency overhead lights flashing. The officers exited their vehicles and initiated a high-risk contact. A high-risk contact is utilized anytime officers confront an individual they believe may be armed and may pose a threat to the officers. This method of contact creates distance between the subject and the officers and generally allows officers an opportunity to issue verbal commands to obtain voluntary compliance from the subject. Mr. McPherson turned toward the officers when they contacted him. He placed his hands in the air and verbally began interacting with the officers. Mr. McPherson was walking around in the street and on the sidewalk while questioning the officers. The officers repeatedly advised Mr. McPherson to raise his hands and get on the ground. At one point, when Mr. McPherson turned his back to the officers, an officer observed the grip of a semi-automatic handgun protruding from the front right pocket of Mr. McPherson's pants. The officers communicated the presence of the handgun to each other, at which time Mr. McPherson verbally acknowledged he had a firearm. Mr. McPherson then moved his hand toward the firearm and began removing it from his pocket. The three involved officers, Corporal Robert Corelli, Corporal Anthony Gutierrez-McCain and Officer Dennis List, feared for their safety as Mr. McPherson was drawing the firearm from his pocket. Each officer fired their duty weapon at Mr. McPherson. Mr. McPherson was struck multiple times by the rounds that were fired. The officers stopped firing their weapons when Mr. McPherson dropped the firearm and they believed he was no longer a threat. The officers immediately rendered medical aid and continued doing so until Mr. McPherson was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. Mr. McPherson was pronounced deceased at the hospital shortly after he arrived. 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 the officers fired a total of 13 rounds. At the scene, investigators recovered Mr. McPherson's firearm on the ground along the west curb line of South Colorado Boulevard. This firearm was a Glock 17 Gen 4 9mm semi-automatic handgun with a magazine and a gun. There were no live rounds in the chamber of the firearm. The magazine contained four live rounds of 9mm ammunition. A toxicology report revealed the presence of cannabinoids in Mr. McPherson's system. His blood alcohol content was 0.259 grams per milliliter. For reference, this level is more than three times higher than the legal limit to drive in Colorado. 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. 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. Get on the ground! Get on the ground! Get on the ground! Now! Don't walk over here! Tony, I need less sleep there. Get on the ground! If you walk over me, I'm going to shoot you. Do you understand that? No, please don't. Get on your knees! Right now! What do I do? Get on the ground! Get on the ground! I'll tell you about it! Get on the ground! Right now! He's got something in his pocket. I see it. It's a gun. Get on the ground! Right now! Fifty-five Sam shots fired. Officer involved. Tony, you want to work your way over to me? We'll go up this way? Both of you guys, come over here. Lock around this way. Get your hands above your head! Keep them out like an airplane! Get the gun on the left. I got it. Don't move! He's got a knife right here! Stand by! Stand by! Don't move! Which side? Roll him which side? Pull onto your right side. I'm not mad, please don't. Okay! Hands behind your back! Hands behind your back! Why'd you shoot me? Right here. Right here. Why'd you shoot me? Here you go. There you go. Alright, get gloves. Why'd you shoot me? Let's get him onto his seat of position. Why'd you shoot me? Hey! Hold on, pal. Listen to me, partner. Why'd you shoot me? Can you sit up? Yeah. Are you able to sit up? Why'd you shoot me? That's all right. Why'd you shoot me? I got a good cloud. Come on! This side's empty. Why? Hey, JD. His waistband's clear. To your side, bud. There you go. God, please help me. I got some. Back here. Alright, sir. God, please help me. What do I look like in a way? Just start this back one. Yeah, you're good. Sir, just keep breathing, okay? More quick. Where? Did you shoot? I did not shoot. Can you pull with him to the ambulance for now? Or were you here when this happened? We pulled up and you fired. You'll wait here. Right there. Okay. I got an extra. No, no. Okay, you got gloves. Hey, bud. What's your name? What is your name? Hey, what's your name? Max. He's got an injury in his leg. Let me see. Let me get some light on here. Can you just help shut down traffic and start throwing some tape for me? Thank you. Hey, tell me your first name, bud. No. Mac? Mac, what's your last name? My first name. Mac, you got to talk to me, buddy. If you got cheers, help them with the leg. Hey, have we got a seatbelt cutter or anything like that? That's fine. I got one in the leg. You want to just finish with your shirt here? You got a tourniquet? Yeah. Perfect. Right here? You got it? Yeah, I'll just cut this so we can see. Hey, what's your name, Mark? Keep talking, okay? Shed it. Hey, what's your friend? Get ready. I need you to go to the hospital with him. Yep. Yes. He's got one in his right shoulder. Right shoulder? Right here. I got it covered. Chest. Right there. I need another tourniquet. No. Mac. Chris. His name is Mac. His name is Mac. Shinin, me, him, and their group. Shinin is going to go to the hospital with him. No, no. He's ready. Me, Tony, and their group. Okay, cool. Go to this here. He had another knife. It's right there. Come with me on separate. Yeah. All right. Just hang on to it. You're going to need it. Williams and I were here at the onset of the shots. All right, cool. All right, no worries. So they're with his officers. Davis is ready to go with the bus. I'm going to get the ID and then take it with you. Joe, can you start getting some tape up for me? Yep. Thank you. Just across. All right. Then can you do me a favor? We're going to get separated. Can you watch this? Done. And knife. Yep. Right here. Where's tape? Hey, get it. There you go. He's got shots in the back. Looks like one in the chest, couple in the leg. Yeah, that's why I'm standing here so they don't knock it over. One in this right shoulder. Hey. On the bus? Or just I'm going with a snake on it. LIS, L-I-S-S. 20016. Shannon. I don't know, partner. And minus 13. 036. We're off the red now. 13, 036. I don't know, partner. I don't have Tony. He's 13. Hey, Marino. Can you follow me down? Can I have someone on this side? Yep. I got a gun right here. Got a knife right there. LIS, LIS. Hey, can I have somebody just lift this into the cot? This in here? Yeah. Ready? All right. Yeah. Let's back out. LIS. Seen secure? Seen secure? Turn off the camera. Get on the ground. I see it. It's a gun. Yes, sir. I'm going to go hands on. I'm going to go hands on. I'm going to go hands on. Which side? Roll on which side? Okay. Got that hand? Right here. Right here. What is this? Seen a position. Okay. Hey, hold on, pal. Listen to me, partner. Can you see it up? Yeah. Guys, I've got a quick clot. Or that's not going to help him too much. I don't think so. I got a quick clot. What? This side's empty. We got one that looks like in the legs. Let's start this back one. All right, sir. Where is it? I can't see the hole. Okay. Guys got covered. Will I do this? Sir, just keep breathing, okay? I got more quick clot. Right here. Can you put pressure on this, somebody? Yeah. You got it? Right there. Yeah. I got extra. No, no. Okay, you got gloves? Okay. Hey bud, what's your name? He's extra quick clot. Matt? What do you need a quick clot at? I'm not sure yet. He's got an injury in his leg. Okay. Let me see. Let me take, let me get some light on here. Let me see if I can get it. Is it through? All right, I don't see where. All right, yeah. He's got it. Tell me the first thing, bud. All right, he looks like he's got one. Let's do his pants, yeah. You guys got promised you were doing this? All right, 33, go check. If you got tears, help him with the leg. Hey, and we got a seatbelt cutter or anything like that? I got it. I got one in the leg. You want to just finish with your shirt? All right. You got it? Yeah. Okay, yeah, yeah. You got it? Yep, just got this one. Take his pants off, man. All right. Lift his leg. Yep. All right. What's up, friend? Get ready. Have you got any other holes? He's got one in his right shoulder. Right shoulder? Right here? I got it covered. Oh, fuck. I need another wave. Anybody need another tourniquet? I have another one. Okay. I got an extra one in my right pocket. I think it's Christopher. Chris. His name is Mack. His name is Mack. Mack. So wake with me, buddy. He got any other down on his right arm here? You guys in any more quick spot? Hey, Sarge. Williams and I were here at the on set the next hour. Yeah. Sir. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Sorry to see you making a mistake. We got another opportunity. No. I don't need another tourniquet. It looks like we got most of the bleeding stopped in the leg. Okay. He I think is like spoken though. Okay. Yup. We got stuff to put back to go to the chest couple of legs. Did we do it in the erst? Okay, how do you want us to help? I think we're just going to have to grab peace and go for it. Okay. I got the right side. Let's go. Come on buddy. Let's get him up there. Throw a couple of these on for right now. We'll get everything churched up in there. Okay. Why no part in order to get chills? Hey, can I have somebody just lift this end of the pot? This end here? Yeah. Ready? All right. All right. Let's get him on to his seat of position. Okay. Listen to me partner. Can we sit up? Yeah. But it looks like in the legs. He's got one in his right shoulder. Right here. I got it. Anybody need another tourniquet? I'm going to turn my camera off. The Denver district attorney will review the details of this incident and determine if the officers 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 briefing.