DA: Officer was justified in deadly 2024 shooting of armed man at Colorado Springs Walmart
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A Colorado Springs police officer's use of deadly force while responding to a call at the Walmart on East Platte in September 2024 has been ruled as justified by the 4th Judicial District Attorney's (DA) Office.
The DA’s Office released its report on the shooting on Wednesday, outlining the events leading up to the incident and the actions taken by officers during the confrontation.
Events of September 3, 2024
On the morning of September 3, 2024, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) responded to a report of a stolen company vehicle and two additional vehicles that had been broken into and damaged at a business on Powers Boulevard.
Later that night, at around 10:30 p.m., officers were alerted that the stolen vehicle had been spotted near Pine Tree Square and Chelton Road. Two officers patrolling the area subsequently searched the nearby Walmart parking lot on East Platte Avenue, where they found the stolen company vehicle sitting unoccupied.
Officers then used an in-store camera system to locate the individuals tied to the stolen vehicle – a man, later identified as 29-year-old Tyler Jacob Ben, and a woman not identified by the DA's Office in its report.
As the two began to exit the store, an officer called out for them to put their hands up. While the woman complied with orders, Ben did not, the DA's Office reports.
Instead, Ben reportedly shouted "Make me" while reaching his left hand into his waistband and pulling out a handgun, according to the report.
In response, one officer pushed Ben back with one hand before firing multiple shots, striking him. According to the DA's office, while down, Ben continued to move with his gun still in his hand, leading the officer to fire additional rounds at him.
Another officer then approached and disarmed Ben before beginning to provide medical assistance until emergency medical personnel arrived at 10:47 p.m.
Despite their efforts, Ben was pronounced dead at the scene.
CSPD recovered a loaded 9mm Beretta handgun from Ben with a defaced serial number. The gun had one round in the chamber and another 12 in the magazine, the report reads.
According to the DA's Office, a toxicology report performed on Ben confirmed he had amphetamine and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death.
No charges were filed against the woman he was with at the time of the shooting.
DA's Office rules officer's use of deadly force justified
In an interview conducted by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO), the officer who fired the shots told authorities he "thought that [Ben] was gonna kill me and my partner and possibly other people in the Walmart.”
According to the DA's Office, the officer's statements were corroborated by bodycam footage, as well as surveillance video captured inside the Walmart. You can watch the full bodycam and surveillance footage of the shooting, released by CSPD last year, here. Viewer discretion is advised.
Under Colorado law, a peace officer is justified in using deadly force "if the peace officer has an objectively reasonable belief that a lesser degree of force is inadequate and the peace officer has objectively reasonable grounds to believe, and does believe, that he or another person is in imminent danger of being killed or of receiving serious bodily injury."
The DA's Office concluded that the officer was justified in using deadly force, citing that Ben, a suspect in a felony crime, posed an immediate threat when he drew a handgun and pointed it at the officer in a confined area with no available cover in a store full of bystanders also in danger.
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