New details released in Englewood police shooting

Video released

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e Englewood Police Department released audio and video footage of the police shooting that occurred on March 18, when an Englewood o cer shot and killed 34-year-old Christopher Michael Martinez.

e 7 minute and 27 second video includes 1 minute and 17 seconds of active video footage, with a few seconds of that in slow motion. e rest of the video is audio from the 911 call, police radios, aerial images of the scene and a voiceover from Deputy Chief Vance Fender.

e video does not include bodycam video from the o cer who shot Martinez. is o cer was reportedly not wearing a body-worn camera at the time of the incident, an April 10 press release from the department said.

“ e camera had been docked at the Englewood Police Department to download prior recorded incidents and was inadvertently left when the o cer responded to calls for service,” according to the release.

Department policy states that “body worn cameras shall be activated when responding to a call for service or during any interaction with the public initiated by the ofcer... for the purposes of enforcing the law or investigating possible violation of the law.” require all local law enforcement agencies to provide bodycams to police o cers who interact with members. e male then allegedly left the area on foot, carrying a handgun, e video shows an animated line on an aerial image of Broadway, tracing the path that o cers allegedly chased the suspect northbound, across Broadway, into the Broadway-Lincoln alley and then northbound in the alley towards East Oxford Avenue. e o cer then shot and killed e video pauses at this point to zoom in, and a green circle highlights a handgun on the ground next to Martinez. e suspect was transported to a nearby hospital where he died, per Fender’s narration.

A police spokesperson said the department will examine the case and deal with possible policy violations after the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Review Team completes its investigation.

According to the Englewood Police Department’s original news release, the Englewood police were called to the Lucky U Motel, located at 4575 S. Broadway, at approximately 12:40 p.m. March 18.

In audio recordings released by the department, a caller says a male threatened to rob and shoot the caller and allegedly pointed a handgun at the caller.

“Due to the dangerous nature of the call for service and the high risk posed to the community, o cers began searching the area for the suspect,” Fender says in a voiceover in the edited video from the department.

O cers allegedly confronted the subject near the Pizza Hut at the corner of Broadway and East Oxford Avenue, where allegedly “Martinez fell to the ground and then pointed a gun at an o cer,” the press release says.

Martinez. In the video, Fender says “the o cer used deadly physical force in defense of himself.” No o cers were injured during the incident.

“(Martinez) died of gunshot wound injuries and the death is classi ed as a homicide,” the coroner’s o ce said in a press release. e moment of the shooting cannot clearly be seen in the video, as it is captured by the dash cam of a patrol car coming towards the scene. An o cer can be seen with his gun drawn and gunshots are audible.

In the video, Fender says “the o cers on scene rendered medical aid to the suspect and requested an ambulance within moments of the shooting.” ese actions are not included in the video footage so it is not clear when exactly aid was rendered.

An independent investigation of the incident will be conducted by the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team, according to the department’s release. e police department said involved o cers were placed on paid administrative leave.

Tayler Shaw contributed to this story.