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The Thornton Police Department has released partial body camera footage, still images and radio recordings from an incident in April during which police killed two people in Lakewood after they say one of them fired on officers.
The footage, part of a video briefing released Friday, shows a Thornton officer shooting at two people as they exited through the driver’s side window of a car after stopping in Lakewood. Police shot both people, who were later pronounced dead at the scene.
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office identified one of the people killed by police as 30-year-old Jasmine Castro, but said it would not publicly release the second person’s identity in accordance with their family’s wishes.
Around 2:40 a.m. on April 30, officers reported seeing a car with no license plates at the intersection of East 84th Avenue and Washington Street in Thornton, according to the briefing. Officers followed the car to 70th Avenue and Broadway in Lakewood and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, police said. The driver allegedly refused to stop.
Officers “did not pursue but surveilled” the car to Alameda Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard, where one of the car’s occupants fired a gun at officers, police said. The car drove away and officers pursued with lights and sirens.
Near Second Avenue and Garrison Street, the officer performed an “immobilization technique maneuver” and ended the pursuit, police said. One person exited the driver’s side window of the car with a gun and a second person followed, according to police.
An officer shot both people and they were pronounced dead at the scene.
The Jefferson County Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the incident and the officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave, according to police.
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