When the Denver Coroner's Office identified Eugene Velarde as the man killed in an exchange of gunfire at the intersection of 17th Avenue and West Sheridan Boulevard, an area captured in the graphic above (if you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map"), its press release stated that "the manner of death is homicide." But the Denver District Attorney's Office has decided that this particular homicide -- a term defined as "any killing of a human being by another human being" -- was lawful. The DA has released a letter revealing details of the shooting, and he's absolved Lakewood Police officer Devaney Braley -- who pulled the trigger, hitting Velarde twice -- of any wrongdoing.
Read the report, complete with photographs and diagrams of the scene, by clicking here.
