Video: Denver police kill man who'd held gun to his head -- suicide by cop?

The phrase "suicide by cop" remains in the common lexicon because incidents that seem to fall under it happen on a fairly regular basis. This 2010 post and another from 2011 are cases in point. Something similar happened last night on the 2600 block of Federal -- and chillingly, some...

By Michael Roberts

May 15, 2013

Audio By Carbonatix

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The phrase "suicide by cop" remains in the common lexicon because incidents that seem to fall under it happen on a fairly regular basis. This 2010 post and another from 2011 are cases in point.

Something similar happened last night on the 2600 block of Federal -- and chillingly, some of the interactions between a man holding a gun to his head and officers who'd wind up shooting and killing him was caught on video. See it and more below.

First word of the tragic confrontation came from the Denver Police Department's Twitter feed, in the following two-part message:

BREAKING: Officer involved shooting. Ofcrs rspd to call of suicidal party in 2600 blk of S. Federal. On arrival, party threatened (cont)
— Denver Police Dept (@DenverPolice) May 15, 2013

(Cont) Denver Fire. Suspect is in critical condition. No further info at this time.
— Denver Police Dept (@DenverPolice) May 15, 2013

As noted by 9News, a neighbor grabbed video of the man, who can be seen standing in the middle of the street with a gun to his head while facing down Denver cops and firefighters.

Non-lethal force is said to have been used in an attempt to subdue him, but this tactic was unsuccessful. As seen in the clip, the man eventually jogged away from police toward a house, still holding the gun.

After the man disappeared from view on the video, he's said to have threatened a firefighter -- at which point police opened fire. The result is described in this followup tweet:

UPDATE: The suspect from 2600 S. Federal was pronounced dead at the hospital at 7:12 p.m.No further information.
— Denver Police Dept (@DenverPolice) May 15, 2013

Hard to know at this point if the man's actions were intended to goad police into ending his life for him or if events simply spiraled out of control. But one thing's certain: The circumstances of his death will linger in the memories of those on the scene for a long time to come.

Here's the 9News report.

More from our News archive circa 2011: "Suicide by cop? Denver cop shoots man who attacked squad car with hammer (VIDEO)."

Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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