A Denver-area police officer was fatally shot by a colleague who mistook him for an armed assailant early Friday, authorities said.
James Davies, a 35-year-old police officer in Lakewood, Colorado, was shot outside a house that he and fellow Lakewood officers – including the firing officer – were checking after hearing shots fired there, police spokesman Steve Davis said.
The firing officer, whom police haven’t identified, thought Davies was an armed threat in the dark of night, the spokesman said.
“This has affected our entire department very, very deeply,” Davis told reporters Friday afternoon. “I don’t think it could have a more tragic set of circumstances.”
The incident started when an officer, searching for the source of gunfire that had been heard in the area, saw someone firing a gun on the porch of the home in Lakewood, Davis said.
A number of officers, including Davies, arrived at the home and took three people into custody in connection with the gunfire. Preparing to enter the home a second time to search it for anyone else, officers surrounded the building, with Davies standing in the backyard, Davis said.
In a neighboring yard, on the other side of a fence, an officer saw Davies with a gun and didn’t know he was a police officer, the spokesman said.
“It’s my understanding that the firing officer could see either a silhouette or enough lighting to see someone with a gun, and mistook him for an armed suspect,” Davis said. “Apparently there were some commands given, but quite frankly everyone seems to think Officer Davies thought that the other officer was in contact with someone else, and was giving commands to that person.”
Davies, in full police uniform, would have had little reason to believe that the shouting officer was commanding him, Davis said.
The second officer shot Davies, who died at the scene, the spokesman said.
Davies, who had been with the department for more than six years, had a wife and two children. The department’s chief spent part of Friday consoling Davies’ family.
“You can imagine the anguish that the other officer is going through right now,” Davis said. “We feel like we have two victims in the department, to be quite frank. That officer is really having a difficult time with what happened last night.”
The incident will be investigated by a team of detectives from several agencies in Jefferson County, and a district attorney would decide whether to charge the firing officer after getting the investigators’ report, Davis said.
Police didn’t say what prompted the gunfire that attracted the officers to the home. The three people who had been detained hadn’t been arrested as of Friday afternoon, Davis said. He said he didn’t know whether they would be charged.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
all cops have itchy finger like to pull trigger period......
@Ethan your statement is an example of a gross generalization that is simply untrue. My husband is in his 27th year in law enforcement and has never fired his gun during a call and trust me he has been on some pretty scary calls. We should all try being kinder gentler beings.
Bless him and may it stay that way. your city/town should thank him for his service, I always thank my friends. Three I use to beat up as children.
so true actually respect is always the best way
yes
Yes...What?
Yes, your husband is the exception. And if you ask drivers to rate themselves, you find out 88% of drivers are "above average".
Sorry thinkbeforeyouspeak, but that is just the way things are. As soon as somebody gets a badge and a gun, they turn into a$sha+s. Google "Stanford prison study".
cops need to think before they shoot...usually it is not at each other but they are very quick to pull the trigger here in portland
Cops don't think. That's why they become cops in the first place.
when you are walking into danger its a bit hard not to react to the slightest abnomality. I sure the victim didn't react to the command because he wouldn't expect to be commanded.
Are you talking about the war in Iraq that more than half of the Democrats said yes to in 2003 or the war in Afghanistan where the Democrats almost unanimously said yes to in 2001?
rule number 1 if you dont know what your shooting at dont shoot. I learned that at the age of 6 guess this cop missed that lesson in gun safety. he deserves to go to prison for murder cause thats what he committed
It's not sad... it's justice. Would this even be news if it had not been another cop? Nope. Happens to innocent bystanders more than can be believed. You just don't hear about it. Cops come from the word "coppers", which is itself a sobriquet attached to the metropolitan police, when they were (themselves) a gang... fighting against the "municipals" police force... a private gang for rich people not already affiliated with a gang. It is what the real Gangs of New York was actually about. Look it up. Cops are a legal gang, or a "gang-hunter'... but they are still gangs and operate exactly the same.
If only the victim had a gun he could had protected himself...
like
I dont agree with most gun control laws, but I give you props for a witty post.
1. A family has lost a husband and father. They have my condolences – their lives are forever changed by this.
2. The cop who shot him is going to wear this the rest of his life. I wouldn't be surprised if he/she's suicidal. What a horrible situation.
I totally agree Scott. Many on here are happy a person is dead. A wife will never get to see her husband again. Two children will grow up with out a father. The other officer who killed him will be tortured for the rest of their life. Yet the only thing many on here can do is post so many negative things. I feel bad for the people on here who are happy someone is dead. Makes me wonder what they are really like. My philosophy is the true feelings of people come out online thanks to the anonymity of the internet.
I bet that the officer that fired the fatal shot had an excuse already to clear himself until he found out he shot one of his own. Doh! Here's the protocol for something like this. If the person that died had not been an officer, the firing officer would had said his life was in danger as the suspect didn't comply with his demands and because he feared for his life. Case closed and the firing officer becomes a hero, get a key to the city and probable gets a promotion. Anyways, the officer that killed his own probable saved an innocent life down the road since he will no longer be an officer and he was to happy to shoot first and ask questions later.
Guns are a menace and they all need to go.
Too bad these guys didn't have better training.
I agree. No more guns! Yes I know the reason. Guns don't kill, people do. Hellooooooooooo? People with guns kill!
R.I.P. Officer Davies.
RIP. Tragic
The officer who fired the fatal shots should be arrested and charged with murder. He opened fire on an individual and he could not even tell who or what he was firing at–GENIUS.
Speak after you have to do what these cops do. Put their lives in danger every day.
I agree that the cop should be charged and prosecuted for murder.
IF he had shot and killed anyone else, it would all just be written up in their "reports" as "the officer feared for his life."
In this case, they cops couldn't claim anything other than what happened... the shooter cop shot without immediate need, clearly. The shooter cop killed another human because he shot without immediate need. You don't shoot at a shadow .......... and then later claim you saw that shadow holding a gun... because you can't see in the dark.
Condolences to the family of James Davies.
Pay back for the "shoot first ask questions later" policy. More poorly trained, highly paid cops. No sympathy here...
Police officers make an average of $43,000.
Exactly. The Courts have condoned cops shooting first and asking questions later for too long.
EVERY DAY we see cops murdering UN-armed people and the courts protect them.
Even in the hands of experienced personnel, guns can be discharged at the wrong time towards the wrong person, they're funny that way.
As the owner of multiple guns and 2nd amendment supporter, I see this as a reminder that you don't want weapons widely scattered about and brandished casually. Keep your guns locked-up and get them out only for the range or the field.
My God, Colorado has certainly seen it's share of tragedy lately !!
Condolences to Ofc. Davies family and fellow officers.
Was this a hit?
Cops are notorious for shooting and killing. Nothing is done. It is always justified. So this time he got his own. If you don't want this to happen, then teach cops not to be so quick to shoot, teach them not to fire until the gun is empt, only fire one or two shots and see what you hit. Any other words, teach control. Control is important when you carry a gun.