‘No charges’ to be filed against Colorado Springs officer who shot suspect

The District Attorney’s Office has ruled no charges will be pressed in the April 25, 2018 shooting when a man was shot by an officer who was responding to a burglary at O’Brien’s Printing in West Colorado Springs.

A completed review of the shooting was released to the public Monday. It is the state’s protocol that all officer-involved shootings that result in injury or death be reviewed by a multi-agency team or a Deadly Force Investigation Team.

CSPD Officer Troy Kananen chased 41-year-old Jesse Paul Schlegel around the 1000 block of 19th Street, according to a news release.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said Schlegel drew a pistol and pointed it at a citizen nearby, Mike Ayles. That’s when Kananen fired at the suspect, striking him more than once.

The 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office ruled Kananen’s actions were justified because he fired his weapon after indicating “that he fired because he believed that the suspect was about to shoot at Mr. Ayles,” according to the report.

Further, Colorado criminal law allows the use of deadly force during an arrest on a fleeing suspect when the officer knows that the suspect has committed or attempted to commit a felony involving the use of a deadly weapon.

The DA’s office ruled the suspect was committing a felony burglary and when he pulled a gun out he was committing two more felonies of menacing and robbery. At that moment, even if fleeing, under Colorado criminal law, the officer is allowed to use deadly force in effecting his arrest.

The investigation concluded that no criminal charges will be filed against Kananen.