DENVER — The family of a pregnant woman whom police in Arvada, Colorado, shot and killed after they mistook her for a shoplifter has reached a $2 million settlement with the city, officials said Tuesday.

Destinee Thompson, a mother of three from Denver, was killed on Aug. 17, 2021, as she tried to drive away from officers who had surrounded her car as she was leaving an Arvada motel.

The lawsuit filed by Thompson’s family was settled in July and the settlement was announced this week, said Dave Snelling, a spokesman for the Arvada Police Department.

The shooting occurred as officers were searching for a Latina who had brandished a knife while she was stealing a cart full of merchandise from a Target store, according to the lawsuit filed in Denver County District Court.

The actual suspect, who also had stolen items from the store two days previously, had a chest tattoo and was wearing a white tank top, and she was believed to have gone to the motel, the lawsuit said.

Thompson, who was wearing a white tank top but did not have a chest tattoo, was leaving the motel to eat lunch as officers arrived, it said.

After Thompson got into her minivan, she was blocked in by a police vehicle and officers surrounded her, yelling and eventually shattering a passenger window, the lawsuit said.

Thompson was scared and tried to back out of the parking space before she drove over the curb and toward the road without posing a risk to officers, it said.

She drove about 25 yards before Arvada Police Officer Anthony Benallo fired eight shots, one of which killed Thompson and her unborn child, the suit said.

Neither Benallo nor the family’s attorney, Siddhartha Rathod, could be reached for comment. 

District Attorney Alexis D. King declined to press charges against officers in April 2022.

“I find that the officer’s use of deadly physical force was legally justified to defend himself and others from the threat posed,” King wrote in a statement.

Thompson’s father, Francis Thompson, said in 2023 that the police department tried to downplay the killing by waiting more than a year to release the incident report. 

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with,” he said. “I want justice. I don’t think it’s fair that the officers are still working without punishment.

“I wish I could tell her one more time that I love her, and I’ll never stop fighting for her. I’m not going to let go.”

Could Colorado football coach Deion Sanders be on the move?

Sanders, who finished off his second year in Boulder leading the Buffaloes to a 9-4 record and Alamo Bowl appearance, has shown interest in NFL jobs this offseason, according to multiple reports — and as confirmed by Coach Prime himself.

REQUIRED READING: Deion Sanders NFL rumors: Is Colorado coach going to Dallas Cowboys?

Sanders also told ESPN on Monday night that he spoke with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about their coaching vacancy, after the Cowboys opted to not extend former coach Mike McCarthy’s contract. Sanders was also reported to have interest in the Las Vegas Raiders opening, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Sanders, of course, played for the Cowboys for five seasons, winning Super Bowl 30 in his first year with the team.

His interest in the NFL job has raised questions as to how much the Cowboys would need to pay his current employer to secure his services in the NFL. With that, here’s everything to know about Sanders’ contract details and buyout, should he leave Colorado for the NFL:

Deion Sanders buyout

Sanders’ buyout is currently set at $8 million, a figure that dropped $2 million as of Jan. 1. His buyout before that date was $10 million. Sanders’ buyout was set at $15 million when he originally took the Colorado job, but the number falls every Jan. 1 of his contract.

Here’s how much Sanders’ buyout would be for the entirety of his contract:

Figures represent buyout if contract terminated before respective dates

• Dec. 31, 2023: $15 million
• Dec. 31, 2024: $10 million
• Dec. 31, 2025: $8 million
• Dec. 31, 2026: $5 million
• Dec. 31, 2027: $2 million

Deion Sanders contract details

• Contract length: Five years
• Total contract value: $29.5 million
• 2024 salary: $5. 7 million

Sanders was paid $5.7 million in 2024, up from $5.5 million in 2023, according to USA TODAY’s salary database. Upon getting the Colorado job, Sanders signed a five-year, $29.5 million contract with the school.

Mike McCarthy contract

Another aspect in Sanders leaving Colorado would be what Jones would offer him to take over the Cowboys, especially in relation to McCarthy.

The former Cowboys coach signed a five-year deal with Dallas in 2020, which the franchise will not renew as of the team’s completion of the 2024 NFL season. According to ESPN, citing numerous league sources, McCarthy made $8 million per season on his contract.

Aurora, Colorado
AP
 — 

A Colorado apartment complex where armed members of a Venezuelan gang were caught on video entering a unit last summer is expected to close in about a month under an emergency court order, city officials said Monday.

The city of Aurora had pursued a lawsuit to declare all but one building at the complex a criminal nuisance. Officials last week asked a judge to close the property in the meantime, arguing the situation reached a “breaking point” following the violent kidnapping and assault of two residents last month.

The city’s request was granted Friday ahead of a court hearing Monday.

Lawyers for the property owner, CBZ Management, dispute the city’s allegations and have asked for a trial to decide the lawsuit. However, the process to close the building will still continue as the lawsuit plays out in court, Aurora City Attorney Pete Schulte said at a news conference following the hearing.

A lawyer representing the property owner, Stan Garnett, said he was not authorized to comment on the order.

While CBZ Management has previously said it was unable to provide maintenance to the complex because a notorious Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, took over the buildings, the city has said the company created the problem by abandoning the running of them, which created a vacuum that let crime flourish.

Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain backed the closure, saying in a court filing that the complex had become a hub for crime because of a “criminal element that has exerted control and fear” over residents.

After the hearing, Chamberlain said he believed that members of Tren de Aragua were part of the problem there, noting that federal authorities say seven of the suspects in the kidnapping and assault are members of the gang. However, Chamberlain said gang members had not taken over the complex and emphasized that the main problem was the lack of management and oversight by the property’s owners.

The city said it is working with the surrounding county and others to provide relocation assistance to residents in 52 affected apartments.

The footage of the armed men at the complex from August drew the attention of President-elect Donald Trump during the presidential campaign. During a rally in Aurora in September, Trump announced a plan called “Operation Aurora” to target migrant gangs.

Four of the six men shown in the August video have since been arrested, according to Aurora police.

There was speculation at the time the video circulated that it showed members of a gang.

Authorities did not confirm a connection until December when Immigration and Customs Enforcement said two suspects from the video who were arrested in New York were members of Tren de Aragua.

According to Colorado court documents, the rifle seen in the video was used in a fatal shooting about 10 minutes later outside the apartment complex. It was found disassembled in an oven in one of the apartments, according to an arrest warrant.

The city did not seek the closure of a sixth building at the complex because a different branch of CMZ owns it. That building is being managed by a court-appointed official at the request of the mortgage lender who is making improvements to the building, according to the city.