Fatal police shooting in Boulder over the weekend

Police say woman killed by law enforcement was threatening people with fake gun

The Boulder Police Department was involved in a fatal officer-involved shooting near the North Boulder Recreation Center Sunday afternoon.

 At 4:10 p.m. on Sunday, officers were called to 3170 Broadway for a report of a woman pointing a gun at people who were trying to drive out of the parking lot at the recreation center, said Support Services Deputy Chief Ron Gossage at a press conference Monday.

According to a Washington Post database that has, since 2015, tracked police shootings across the United States, 2023 is currently on track to see a similar number of police shootings as last year. Between Jan. 1 and July 9, 2022, there were 18 fatal shootings by police in Colorado. 2022 ended with 40 police shootings in total across the state.

That’s slightly above the annual average of 37, according to the Post’s eight years of data. In recent years, shootings in Colorado and across the country have risen, data shows.

At approximately 4:10 p.m. on Dec. 17th, our 911 dispatchers received a call from a driver who reported that he was approached while he was in his car in the driveway exit of the North Boulder Rec Center by a woman who had a gun and pointed it at him,” Gossage said. “Our first officers arrived on scene at approximately 4:12 p.m. About two minutes later at approximately 4:14 p.m. the officers located the suspect near the rec center.”

Gossage said the suspect did not comply with the officer’s verbal commands. Instead, she headed northbound on Broadway on foot.

“The officers followed her and attempted to gain compliance. They informed her that if she did not cooperate, she could have force used against her,” Gossage said. “She did not cooperate and continued walking away, turning down residential side streets. The officers followed her and used less lethal attempts to get her to comply with their orders. They also saw her remove a gun from her purse.”

Gossage said officers followed her and attempted to deescalate the situation for approximately 15 minutes.

“Using less lethal strategies and verbal command, de-escalation attempts proved unsuccessful and officers discharged their weapons striking the suspect at approximately 4:26 p.m.,” he said. “Immediately afterwards, officers began to administer medical aid. Boulder Fire Rescue arrived a few minutes later to assist them with medical aid. Unfortunately, after nearly 40 minutes of administering emergency medical aid, the woman died at the scene.”

The growing mental health crisis had already prompted the city of Boulder to implement a pilot program for 911 calls that will redirect certain non-violent callers to mental health professionals instead of the law enforcement. Unfortunately, the presence of a possible gun in this incident likely warranted law enforcement involvement immediately.

The Boulder County Coroner’s Office will identify her, notify the next of kin and determine the cause and manner of death.

 Gossage said the gun the woman was holding was later determined to be a replica Beretta pistol.

“It’s a replica firearm that does not act as an actual firearm,” Gossage said.

Gossage said currently per policy, the two Boulder Police officers involved in the shooting incident are on administrative leave with pay.

Gossage said detectives are also seeking information about the time the same woman was inside the Boulder Recreation Center an hour before the shooting occurred.

At approximately 3:13 p.m., officers were called to the center for a report of a woman inside a bathroom and refusing to leave. Officers arrived and escorted the woman off the property.

Gossage said no officers or civilians were hurt in the incident.

“Thankfully, no officers or other people were injured during this incident,” he said. “The use of deadly force is something that no officer wants to do. The taking of a life is the most serious action an officer can take. The incident is a tragedy, and our thoughts are with the friends and family of the woman who died.”

Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said per state law, the Boulder County Investigation Team will investigate the officer-involved shooting as with any case where an officer has fired their weapon.

He said witness and officer interviews are ongoing. When they’re done with their investigation, they will present it to the District Attorney’s Office.

“After the tragic shooting that took place yesterday [Sunday], the Boulder Police Department immediately notified the Boulder County Critical Incident team,” Dougherty said. “It’s a multi-agency and crime scene analysts from different police agencies and crime scene analysts from different police agencies. The Boulder Police Department is not actively involved in the investigation into the officer’s use of force as required by state law. It’s a multi-agency, independent and objective investigation.”

Dougherty said once that review is completed by his office, they will announce a decision as to whether any of the officers should be criminally charged or whether their use of force was justified under the law.

“I then, as I do after every officer involved incident, post the community town hall where I share all of the materials, the evidence, the videos and so on, that led to the decision,” he said. “This is an absolute tragedy. Anytime there’s a loss of life, I could promise you that the investigation’s going to be thorough as it should be anytime an officer uses deadly physical force.”

Boulder Fire Rescue, Parks and Recreation Urban Rangers, American Medical Response (AMR), and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office helped with the incident aftermath.

The Boulder Parks and Recreation Urban Ranger team helped during this incident by locking down the North Boulder Recreation Center and assisting BPD with traffic management and rec center parking lot closures.

After BPD told the Urban Rangers that it was safe to lift the recreation center lockdown, they reopened the facility. Boulder city staff from multiple departments worked well together during this incident to keep the community safe.

Boulder is in the process of implementing a new pilot program that will redirect certain 911 calls to mental health professionals for non-violent incidents.

Boulder Police detectives are seeking the public’s help for anyone who witnessed any part of these incidents to contact Detective S. Byars at [email protected] or 303-441-1970 reference case 23-12689 or by uploading any videos or photos to https://bouldercopd.evidence.com/axon/community-request/public/2312689