When Lethal Force Becomes the Default: The Death of Jeannette Alatorre

Jeannette Alatorre’s death ignites a legal battle as local media and next of kin challenge Boulder’s handling of the fatal encounter and its commitment to police transparency.

The Incident

The death of 51-year-old Jeannette Alatorre at the hands of Boulder police officers on December 17, 2023, has led to an ongoing legal battle between Yellow Scene Magazine and the City of Boulder, which could potentially shape the future of police accountability laws in the state. This incident not only raises questions about the use of lethal force but also highlights the broader fight for public transparency in officer-involved shootings in Colorado.

The chain of events began at a Boulder recreation center, where, despite having a day pass, Alatorre was reported for trespassing and “overstaying” her time in the bathroom. When officers arrived on the scene, it became apparent that Alatorre had been bathing in the family restroom, 

There is no law in Colorado against bathing in public bathrooms, especially in a family restroom, where Alatorre would have had more privacy. After police arrived, the situation escalated, with officers confronting Alatorre about her behavior and eventually escorting her out of the recreation center. 

Sometime later that day, several more 911 calls were made claiming that there was an individual walking in the street with what appeared to be a firearm. The object she was holding was later revealed to be an airsoft gun with the orange tip removed. Officers claimed they were forced to escalate to lethal force after warnings, and the use of non-lethal weapons proved ineffective. Body camera footage captured officers shouting commands, firing multiple rounds, and performing CPR after Alatorre was critically injured. She was later pronounced dead.

A screenshot from body-worn camera footage shows Boulder police officers continuing to point weapons at Alatorre as she lies prone on the ground.

The Boulder Police Department’s body-worn camera (BWC) footage provided to YS shows that officers left Alatorre in a state of increased stress and escalation than they had found her in during that initial interaction. Boulder kickstarted a Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT) program in 2021 to co-respond with law enforcement to 911 calls involving mental health crises. However, due to the categorization of “trespassing” for that initial call to the rec center, dispatchers only altered BPD. 

Independent studies have found that police use force exceedingly rarely when responding to calls with Boulder’s CIRT. Between 2022 and 2023, just 0.3% of these co-responded calls resulted in law enforcement using force. Had dispatchers called for the CIRT to respond with officers to 911 calls concerning Alatorre, would she still be alive today?

Legal Fight for Transparency

In the aftermath, attorney Dan Williams filed a police misconduct complaint and requested the BWC footage to better understand the events leading to Alatorre’s death. In response, BPD demanded thousands of dollars in fees for locating and redacting the footage—$2,857.50 in the case of YS, which also sought the footage to report on the incident.

“Boulder is a small, relatively safe city. We have an extremely aggressive police department policing a city with very little violent crime,” Williams told YS. 

“So when there is an officer-involved shooting, it’s something I take notice of,” Williams explained when asked why he had chosen to file a misconduct complaint originally. 

These fees sparked a lawsuit, with Williams, Alatorre’s daughter, and YS arguing that the demands violated Colorado’s Law Enforcement Integrity and Transparency Act of 2020. This legislation mandates that families of victims receive relevant police footage for free and restricts fees for other requesters. It prioritizes transparency in cases of alleged police misconduct and was written in direct response to the Black Lives Matter protests that took place in Colorado and nationally that summer. 

In defense, the city of Boulder argued that a section of the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) permits government agencies to charge reasonable fees for records requests if the state does not supply funding for this. While true, CORA is a wide-sweeping law that covers all open records requests, while the Law Enforcement Integrity Act pertains specifically to making requests for BWC footage in cases where a misconduct complaint was previously filed. 

In April 2024, a district court ruled in favor of YS, declaring that CORA does not override the Transparency Act when invoked. The court emphasized that the purpose of the Transparency Act is to hold law enforcement accountable without placing undue financial burdens on victims’ families or the public. The court also ruled, however, that records requests would only be considered under the Transparency Act if requesters specifically mention it, which YS did. 

In response to the ruling, BPD finally began to release the BWC footage from that day in December 2023; this is what we found. 

Body Worn Camera Footage

Boulder Police officers were consistently too far from Alatorre for less-than-lethal weapons to be effective.

Just fifteen minutes passed between when any given officer arrived on the scene and the fatal shooting of Alatorre. In all that time, Alatorre never fired a single shot from the airsoft weapon she was carrying. Throughout the footage, she is seen retreating from officers on foot. Had officers given the situation more time to diffuse, perhaps the fatal shooting could have been avoided. 

From a distance, it is reasonable to conclude that officers could not distinguish the airsoft weapon Alatorre was carrying from a real weapon since the orange tip was removed. But is this enough to justify police actions that day? 

Throughout the BWC footage, officers make several remarks about attempting to use less-than-lethal “bean bags” before resorting to lethal force. This was cited in the District Attorney’s final ruling that there had not been any misconduct during the fatal incident. Footage of officers actually utilizing the less-than-lethal method is not clearly shown in any of the BWC videos provided to YS, which BPD has assured what they provided is everything collected from that day.

It is possible that the officer who fired those less-than-lethal rounds was not recording at the time. It is also possible that the less-than-lethal rounds are indistinguishable from other shotgun rounds fired in the footage. Colloquially referred to as “beanbags,” these less-than-lethal rounds are actually just small sacks full of buckshot that can be loaded into regular shotguns. These rounds, while “less lethal” than regular buckshot, have still killed people when fired at the head, neck, or other vulnerable areas, thus the name. 

However, the distance officers were from Alatorre when those rounds would have been fired would have made them ineffective in subduing her at all. Begging the question, did Boulder police officers make enough of an effort to detain Alatorre without using excessive force? 

Colorado law states that officers are justified in using deadly physical force only when the officer believes it is reasonably necessary to:

• defend the officer or another from the use of imminent deadly physical force or
• make an arrest or prevent an escape from someone who has committed a felony involving the use of a deadly weapon or indicates a likelihood to inflict serious bodily injury or endanger human life.

Whether or not Alatorre’s case meets these standards for the use of deadly force could be determined by a jury, should the victim’s family choose to go further with legal action against the city. Twentieth Judicial District Attorney Michael Dougherty, based on an investigation by the Boulder Critical Incident Team (BCIT), found that the officers involved were not subject to criminal prosecution, though could not absolve them of the possibility of civil prosecution. 

In his decision letter, DA Dougherty clarifies that “the investigation and review of this incident does not evaluate nor review the appropriateness of police tactics or whether department policies and procedures were followed. My decision, based on criminal law standards, does not limit administrative action by BPD or any civil action where less stringent laws, rules, and levels of proof would apply.”

BWC footage shows officers engaging the scene as if it were an active combat zone, following Alatorre down a highly trafficked street, service weapons drawn. In some instances, officers have service weapons pointed directly towards motorists attempting to drive through the area. At the very least, this shows the department’s incompetence when clearing an active crime scene.

BPD officers are seen pointing service weapons at a black pickup truck. The truck can be seen reversing at high speed away from the scene immediately after this.

In the past, BPD has successfully detained violent offenders unharmed. In 2021, officers from the same department arrested Ahmad Al Aliwi Al-Issa, who killed 10 people, including one police officer, in a mass shooting at King Soopers by shooting him in the leg. If BPD could take down a mass shooter alive, why then was Alatorre shot nine times for simply holding a gun?

After the shooting, Boulder police officers approach Alatorre’s prone body cautiously, still shouting demands to drop the weapon that lies in her limp hand. Seeing that she is still making small, twitch-like movements, officers cuff Alatorre’s wrists and ankles before attempting CPR.

While administering CPR is one possible intervention for gunshot wounds, other emergency responses such as stopping the hemorrhage, managing the victim’s airway, and preventing shock are also necessary. In Alatorre’s case, these additional interventions were not attempted by the officers who gunned her down. Additionally, several high-profile cases of excessive force have highlighted a lack of medical response from officers, leading some police reform activists to raise ethical concerns over officer-administered CPR as a way of protecting themselves against scrutiny.

Colorado’s Law Enforcement and Integrity Act requires that footage be released immediately to victims’ family members. Following the court ruling in favor of YS, Williams expected the BWC footage to be available immediately, but this was not the case. The city of Boulder began releasing the footage 45 days after the initial ruling. From there, it took further requests from Williams for the city to release the remaining footage. The final video, which showed the deadly shooting as well as officer actions immediately following, was at first heavily blurred. 

“There are some limited reasons in the statute for privacy, where a video can be blurred. But the city’s use of this blurring was well beyond what the statute allows,” Williams said. “They were blurring after they had killed Ms Alatorre. They blurred what the officers were doing, which, there was no privacy interest that would have permitted that.” 

Is it possible that BPD attempted to release only a highly blurred version of the events immediately after the shooting to obscure their actions?

BPD officers are seen again pointing service weapons in the direction of oncoming traffic and residential housing.

Legal Battle Continues

Earlier this month, the City of Boulder appealed the district court decision, raising two key arguments. First, it questions whether the Transparency Act truly overrides CORA when invoked. Second, it contends that the district court’s decision neglects a CORA provision allowing governments to charge fees if the state does not fund the release of records. 

The outcome of this appeal could have far-reaching implications for how transparency laws are interpreted and enforced in Colorado. A decision favoring Boulder might discourage future records requests by imposing significant financial barriers, while a decision against the city could strengthen the public’s ability to scrutinize law enforcement actions.

While the legal battle over transparency unfolds, the deeper questions surrounding Alatorre’s death remain unanswered. Was the use of lethal force justified? Could the situation have been de-escalated? And what systemic changes are needed to prevent similar incidents in the future? And why, knowing she had mental health issues from their previous interaction, did dispatchers not alert CIRT?

The lack of clarity in the events of December 17th, 2023, and the legal hurdles in accessing footage have only deepened the anguish for Alatorre’s family and the community. Activists and journalists alike have pointed out that the fight for accountability and transparency is critical in addressing the broader issue of police brutality—a persistent concern in an age of increasing demands for law enforcement reform.

The case of Jeannette Alatorre exemplifies the critical need for transparency and underscores the importance of holding institutions accountable when lives are lost at the hands of law enforcement. As the legal proceedings continue, the hope is that Colorado’s transparency laws will be clarified and strengthened, ensuring that families, advocates, and the public have the tools necessary to demand justice and prevent future tragedies.