Denver, CO
Denver DA explains decision not to file charges against officers in deadly police shooting of Miguel Tapia
DENVER — Denver District Attorney Beth McCann on Wednesday explained her decision not to file criminal charges against three officers who shot and killed a person in June.
Around 11:44 a.m. on June 16, officers were called out to Broadway and Lawrence Street for a report of a person holding a knife in the intersection. Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said officers confronted the person and gave them commands to drop the knife, but they refused and began advancing toward the officers.
After at least two tasing attempts, three officers opened fire and fatally struck the person, according to Thomas.
The person who was killed was identified as 52-year-old Miguel Tapia. Previously, the person was identified by Denver police as a woman and during a following press briefing was described as a transgender person. In her decision letter, McCann said Tapia “presented as a female at the time of this incident but the medical examiner identified him as a male.”
The district attorney said in her letter, “Because we do not know how the individual preferred to be identified or addressed, we refer to Tapia as “he/him.””
Denver
Denver police shoot, kill knife-wielding woman at downtown intersection
During the news conference, Denver Police Department Commander Matt Clark said the incident began with several motorists reporting a person standing in the intersection.
“One caller advised the subject was yelling at passing motorists ’to kill them,’” said Clark.
He said a nearby Denver Park Ranger saw Tapia and alerted police dispatchers that “the subject had a knife with an eight-inch blade in a bag.”
“When officers arrived, the subject was carrying several bags but did not have a weapon in their hand,” said Clark. “The officers could see the handle of what appeared to be a large knife in a bag that the person was wearing over their shoulder.”
Clark said officers attempted to de-escalate the situation by speaking in both English and Spanish.
“An officer also visually demonstrated that he wanted the person to put their hands on their head,” said Clark. “The subject did not comply with the officer’s direction and instead retrieved the large knife for the over-the-shoulder bag they were wearing. The subject held the knife in their right hand while pointing it — the point of the knife — directly at officers.”
The department released body camera video showing the sequence leading up to the fatal shots.
Denver
Transgender person with knife killed by DPD after Tasers failed to stop them: PD
On Wednesday, McCann told reporters that officers were justified in using deadly force against Tapia.
“I found it reasonable for the officers to believe that Mr. Tapia was about to commit assault with the knife, or even worse actually,” said McCann.
McCann believed the officers were in imminent danger of being killed or wounded.
“After the tasers were not effective, they did not have time to do anything other than to use deadly physical force,” she said.
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Denver, CO
Colorado weather: Colder temperatures still to come, snow returns Sunday to Denver
The Front Range and Eastern Plains saw freezing, below-zero temperatures in the double digits overnight, but the worst of the arctic blast is yet to come.
Park County, southwest of metro Denver, experienced some of the coldest temperatures overnight Saturday, National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Koopmeiners said.
Temperatures fell to minus 33 degrees at Lake George, about 40 miles west of Colorado Springs, and to minus 37 at the nearby Elevenmile Canyon Reservoir, Koopmeiners said. Some areas out east on the plains, including Berthoud, saw overnight lows near minus 19.
Everything you need to know about the polar vortex bringing extreme cold to Colorado
Koopmeiners said temperatures bottomed out around 11 degrees below zero in Denver, but the wind chill made it feel closer to minus 29.
More snow is expected to fall Sunday across the Front Range and Eastern Plains, which Koopmeiners said will keep the worst of the cold at bay.
“The clouds help insulate the area when it snows, so it won’t get as cold and we won’t see some of those negative temperatures,” Koopmeiners said.
Chances for snow will start in Denver around sunset, but snowfall will be more likely to start between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., Koopmeiners said. The city can expect an inch or two of new accumulation before the snow stops around noon Monday.
“It will be a light, dry snow that doesn’t hold a lot of moisture,” Koopmeiners said. “The kind where you shut your car door and all the snow falls off the windows.”
The coldest temperatures of the 4-day arctic blast will come Monday night into Tuesday morning, he said. Wind chill temperatures will hit minus 25 over the Eastern Plains and up to minus 50 in the mountains and mountain valleys.
Denver, alongside most of the Front Range, is under a Cold Weather Advisory until 9 a.m. Tuesday.
“Dangerously cold wind chills as low as 25 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes,” forecasters said in the advisory.
Metro Denver is forecast to see Monday night temperature lows near minus 9, with wind chills of 25 degrees below zero.
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Denver, CO
Denver Animal Shelter anticipates increase in calls as frigid temps put pets at risk
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Denver, CO
Broncos’ Full Slate of 2025 NFL Draft Picks Revealed
The Denver Broncos overachieved in 2024. They were the sleeper that no one saw coming.
It’s safe to say that NFL opponents won’t be overlooking the Broncos in 2025. This team needs to get better and stronger with a successful offseason haul in both free agency and the NFL draft.
The Broncos have a full complement of draft picks this year. Keep in mind, Denver traded its fifth-round pick this year to the Miami Dolphins as part of the Bradley Chubb deal.
However, the Broncos have three sixth-rounders this year because they swapped their seventh-round pick for a sixth in the Albert Okwuegbunam trade with the Philadelphia Eagles and picked up another sixth in the Baron Browning deal with the Arizona Cardinals.
Denver upgraded its original seventh-rounder for a sixth by parting with Okwuegbunam and added another by trading a player from a position in which the team had a log jam. The Browning trade worked out because it opened the door for Nik Bonitto to turn in an All-Pro season with 13.5 sacks and gave the Broncos another sixth-round draft pick.
On the heels of the NFL solidifying No. 20 as the Broncos’ draft slot this coming spring, here’s a look at the team’s selections, with a little help from prosportstransactions.com and nflmockdraftdatabase.com. Please note, however, that the specific slots of the late-round picks are projections as the compensatory picks have yet to be announced by the NFL.
What happens next on the Broncos beat? Don’t miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!
What will the Broncos do in the first round? The team’s biggest needs are arguably on the offensive side of the ball, including running back, tight end, and wide receiver, as well as some holes on the defensive line, inside linebacker, and the secondary.
With a projected $48 million in salary-cap space, too, it’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Free agency will take place first, which should allow the Broncos to fill the most immediate roster holes, freeing them up to cultivate a best-player-available philosophy when the draft rolls around.
Keep in mind, the placement of the Broncos’ late-round picks are projected for now. But we at least know that Denver has three sixth-rounders this year, one of which is its original pick, with the other two arriving via trade.
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