Denver cops shot the wrong man 50 times, but it's OK...

[PilotsError 2312]

because they feared for their lives.  This happened in March but dashcam footage was just released yesterday.  Video in link.

Denver police released body cam footage Tuesday of a March 2018 shooting that left the wrong suspect dead.

Three Denver cops mistakenly thought they were pursuing an attempted murder suspect who had escaped jail on March 19 when they opened fire on 27-year-old Steven Nguyen's SUV, killing him.

Nguyen was shot almost 50 times.

Nguyen's passenger 23-year-old Rafael Landeros was wounded, but survived the shooting.

It turned out, they shot the wrong guys.

The suspect, Mauricio Venzor-Gonzalez, who was on the lam from attempted murder charges after shooting at a police officer in November before escaping jail, was not inside the SUV.

In fact, police had mistakenly identified Nguyen as Venzor-Gonzalez when they began pursuing Nguyen.

 

Venzor-Gonzalez, 23, had been arrested earlier in the year after shooting at the officer, according to the Denver Post.

Even though Denver police officers William Bohm, Austin Barela and Susan Mercado shot the wrong people while looking for Venzor-Gonzalez, Denver Police Commander Barb Archer, declared the shooting justified because the officers believed they were actually pursuing Venzor-Gonzalez.

And since the people inside of the SUV did not follow orders, officers "feared for their safety."

"Officers knew that Venzor-Gonzalez had been arrested in November for attempting to kill a police officer," Archer said after watching the video.

"They believed the actions being made inside the car were efforts to locate a weapon. So fearing for their safety the officers fired.”

It happened as Denver police were monitoring Venzor-Gonzalez's home after he escaped from deputies at Denver Health hospital on March 18.

An SUV with two men inside circled the block near Venzor-Gonzalez's home.

Police believed the SUV to be Venzor-Gonzalez.

Officers were granted permission to pursue the SUV.

Nguyen fled, at times reaching speeds of around 100 MPH.

Video shows when officers stop the car, Nguyen and Landeros don't have much time to comply before officers open fire, spraying their SUV with bullets.

The SUV then rolls down an embankment where officers claim they could see the occupants looking for something inside.

And that, they say, prompted them to fire a second round of shots as the SUV comes to a stop.

"This level of excess is particularly egregious because it was fueled by a dispatch from detectives who could not positively identify the passenger in Steven’s car, but falsely reported ‘to a 100 percent certainty’ that he was an escapee wanted for shooting at police," Nguyen family attorney Spencer Bryan said in a statement

Steven Nguyen

Watch footage of the incident, shown from three different body cam perspectives, above.

Listen to Denver Police Commander Barb Archer's explanation about the incident during a March 22 press conference below.

https://newsmaven.io/pinacnews/police-brutality/watch-denver-cops-fatally-shoot-wrong-suspect-50-times-Amwu8JIEgUmNvLvvQa8zAw/?fbclid=IwAR3OqObltS00qCHEEGDK6hrTNx3xRE0S9ZesFIeR0pdLgwyLdSv2WOxqZSc

[Parliament 14274]

delete

Edited October 19, 2018 by Parliament
delete

[NeverMarryAStripper 21913]

Just think how many more innocent people would be dead if cops could actually hit what they were aiming at.

[YChang 3455]

Victims shoulda been polite and respectful and this wouldn’t have happened. Clearly wasn’t raised properly.

[crash_davis 23114]

not blaming the victims but why would they flee the police?  sounds like it was an intense car chase.  were the victims connected to the escaped murder suspect?

the converse to that, fleeing the police is justifiable cause for the police to fire 50 times at you?  what crimes did they commit other than fleeing from the police who incorrectly were pursuing them?

[High Plains Drifter 11050]

32 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

not blaming the victims but why would they flee the police?  sounds like it was an intense car chase.  were the victims connected to the escaped murder suspect?

the converse to that, fleeing the police is justifiable cause for the police to fire 50 times at you?  what crimes did they commit other than fleeing from the police who incorrectly were pursuing them?

 

Victims should have watched the below video:

 

1 hour ago, bernorange said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ABSR 5320]

4 hours ago, YChang said:

Victims shoulda been polite and respectful and this wouldn’t have happened. Clearly wasn’t raised properly.

They must not have seen the video.

[JohnnyRage 1617]

I’m sure they were staked out undercover. Did they ever catch the tattoo face?

[immortal13 4059]

Fuck this bullshit. Those cops should be fired at minimum...they should be tried for murder. To justify their actions because they were scared is complete bullshit.

[NateHitch 1282]

4 minutes ago, immortal13 said:

Fuck this bullshit. Those cops should be fired at minimum

At minimum they should spend the vast majority of their remaining lives in prison.  If you shoot someone 50 times you better be sure you got the right guy.

[immortal13 4059]

26 minutes ago, NateHitch said:

At minimum they should spend the vast majority of their remaining lives in prison.  If you shoot someone 50 times you better be sure you got the right guy.

Can't disagree

[gmr548 16590]

Take their guns away. Can't be trusted.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[softlynow 1816]

40 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

Take their guns away. Can't be trusted.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 

What? You want some fiend with a blunt to be able to get away?

You’re gonna force the boys in blue to work on their physical fitness. Every Planet Fitness gonna be grabbed as a forfeiture for official use.

[Lat22 4015]

It would have never happened if these innocent people didn’t make the decision to run from a traffic stop. 

 

OTOH, the cops sure were quick on the trigger. 

[NeverMarryAStripper 21913]

Also wouldn't have happened if the cops didn't shoot the wrong people 50 times

[Fat Bastard 600]

Doubt Mr. Landeros will be missed from the community. 

[NeverMarryAStripper 21913]

Must be nice just to be able to shoot and kill anyone you don't think will be missed from the community because I have a list.

[immortal13 4059]

13 hours ago, Lat22 said:

 

 

OTOH, the cops sure were quick on the trigger. 

Ya think? 

[immortal13 4059]

10 hours ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

Must be nice just to be able to shoot and kill anyone you don't think will be missed from the community because I have a list.

As long as you "meant" to shoot someone else, it's all good

[pacman 7366]

Call a spade a spade, they wanted revenge for being shot at, jumped to conclusions too quickly, and carried out a planned murder on the wrong person.

[Texas_Rocks 346]

One thing about cops. They are among the most prodigious liars out there. Imagine working a job where hardly a day goes by where you don’t casually lie about something.

The job requires lying as far as most cops are concerned...and they do it with absolute ease.

I spent about five years picking the brains of several HPD SWAT guys and it profoundly changed the way I perceived law enforcement beforehand.

[South Austin 52523]

The victim was in a no-Nguyen situation.

[Dropout 355]

I’ll never understand how a police officer expects someone to “show me your hands” or “get your hands up” after firing 20+ rounds into a car. I’ve never been shot but I’d imagine if I was shot once maybe 20 times the last thing I’m going to be able to do or think about doing is putting my hands where someone can see them. When they don’t see the hands in 5 seconds let’s go ahead and fire more rounds into the car like that’ll help see hands. 

[lemonlime 5503]

No clue why the victim would've tried to get away from the police.  I mean it's not like the officers were about to shoot him 50 times for no reason.  Completely irrational on the victim's part.

[Chopper 17242]

Memo to my 18 year old self: Never panic when the cop tries to pull you over.

[texashorne 1178]

Umm.. Don't run from the cops? 

Quote

Nguyen fled, at times reaching speeds of around 100 MPH.

 

[SDG 3319]

Notice how the article say they shot the wrong “suspect” dead...

[immortal13 4059]

1 hour ago, SDG said:

Notice how the article say they shot the wrong “suspect” dead...

Everyone is a suspect. Duh