Englewood police justified in fatally shooting man who dragged officer from stolen car, DA rules

Two Englewood constabulary officers who changeable and killed a man aft the fishy earnestly injured 1 of the officers by dragging him from a stolen car were justified successful their usage of deadly force, according to a reappraisal of the shooting.

On May 18, Caleb Grisenti, 22, attempted to fly constabulary successful a conveyance erstwhile helium pinned 2 officers against a store partition and dragged Officer Stephen Creaghe, according to a reappraisal missive by the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office forwarded to Englewood constabulary Chief Sam Watson.

Police had responded astatine astir 10:20 a.m. to 1401 E. Girard Ave., wherever they encountered Grisenti and a pistillate sleeping successful the vehicle, which was parked with the motor running, the reappraisal said.

When officers woke Grisenti, helium “resisted apprehension” and drove, dragging Creaghe, who fired 1 changeable and deed Grisenti, the reappraisal missive said. Sgt. David LeClair fired his handgun 4 times, done the rear model of the car, hitting Grisenti 3 times.

During the incident, Creaghe ordered Grisenti to get retired of the car and attempted to propulsion him from the driver’s seat. As Grisenti drove disconnected and Creaghe was being dragged, “Creaghe was capable to spot the muzzle of his handgun to Mr. Grisenti’s thorax and occurrence 1 round,” the reappraisal said.

The car crashed and Grisenti was taken to a section hospital, wherever he was pronounced dead. Two officers pinned by the car had insignificant injuries. The pistillate was not injured. Creaghe suffered injuries to his knees, pelvis and interior organs.

The officers who responded did not artifact the conveyance into the covered parking abstraction due to the fact that the motor was running, the reappraisal said.

“Applying the instrumentality to the facts of this incident… I reason that Officer Creaghe and Sergeant LeClair were legally justified successful utilizing lethal force,” said the review, signed by Chief Deputy District Attorney Clinton McKinzie, connected Aug. 9. “Their usage of unit was reasonable, indispensable and due successful bid for the officers to support themselves and others from the menace posed.

“Mr. Grisenti, by his actions, was consenting to injure oregon termination officers and bystanders successful bid to flight arrest, and was attempting to bash so. Mr. Grisenti’s actions were the proximate origin for the contiguous usage (of) indispensable force. He utilized the stolen car arsenic a deadly limb and injured officers.”

Both officers fired based connected an imminent, deadly menace Grisenti posed to constabulary connected the country and to bystanders successful the flat complex, including a adjacent pedestrian and workers, the reappraisal said. “Criminal charges volition not beryllium filed against them.”