Following the officer-involved-shooting death of Tuan Hoang on November 30, the Aurora Police Department released an unusual amount of material in relation to the case, including radio transmissions and photos related to Hoang's meat cleaver attack, including a gory image of a gash the weapon left in the head of the APD cop in question.
The department has taken a similar tack in the case of another officer-involved shooting — the APD's sixth this year.
The person killed in the shooting hasn't been identified at this writing — but he's thought to have fatally stabbed his girlfriend, Mireya Ramirez.
This time around, the audio issued by the police is a 911 call made by Ramirez's mom, June Lee Simpson, that captures the horrifying moments before officers arrived, exhortations to shoot the man and the sound of the fatal gunshots.
The contents, shared here, may disturb some readers.
Ramirez, whose Facebook page features portraits like this one....
...and this one....
...was herself a mom, as is stressed in a GoFundMe page set up after her passing.
The introduction reads:
We are hoping to raise money for our beloved sister Mireya Ramirez funeral expenses, who was tragically stabbed to death by her boyfriend on 12/12/15. She leaves behind 4 children ranging in age from 4 to 10. The Salgado family would like to thank you for your generosity.As for the incident that took her life, an account from the APD notes that the call for help went out at approximately 7:42 p.m. on Saturday, December 12.
That's the time officers responded to the 700 block of North Kenton Street in regard to what's described as "a stabbing in progress."
Upon their arrival, the cops saw two people fighting in the street — a woman and a man armed with a knife.
The cops are said to have ordered the man to drop the weapon, after which he was shot to death.
Immediately thereafter, both Simpson and Ramirez were given medical aid, with the latter rushed to a nearby hospital, where she succumbed to her wounds. Simpson's injuries were less serious.
The horror of what happened is brought home by the 911 audio, during which an emotionally shattered Simpson can be heard hollering instructions to her daughter in an effort to help her escape the assault — "Run around the car!" she yells at one point — and warning the man with the knife, "You stay away from my daughter or I will kill you!"
When the police arrive, she turns her words to them. "Shoot him!" she shouts. "Shoot him!"
The officer who did so has been put on administrative leave with pay — standard procedure while the incident is under investigation.
But at a press conference about the shooting, Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz made it clear he believes the officer's actions were justified — and the release of the 911 audio is being offered as evidence to back up that contention.
Below, find the audio from the call in its entirety, APD footage of the press conference and a 7News report.
In the meantime, we offer our sincere condolences to the friends, family and loved ones of Mireya Ramirez. For more information about the GoFundMe campaign, click here.
