Man killed by Pueblo police had an extensive criminal record

An injured Pueblo police officer has now undergone two surgeries to repair his leg after it was shattered by bullets in a Tuesday night shootout.

His name still hasn’t been released but we’re told he’s a husband and father of a young child. Police say he has been with the department for less than a year.

Sgt. Frank Ortega with Pueblo police gave an update Thursday on the investigation.

“They obviously need to talk to the officer that’s at the hospital, but with his condition, that’s obviously not going to happen today,” he said.

The man who police say shot at officers is Michael Hensley, who was in return shot and killed.
Hensley was on parole and had an active arrest warrant.

“We did a report not too long ago. I think it was 80% of those who have engaged with police have a criminal record. And it’s an even higher percentage that are on parole, such as this suspect, who had a warrant for a parole violation,” said Sgt. Ortega.

His criminal record is being listed as a possible motive by police. And Hensley’s rap sheet doesn’t stop there, his records show crimes in three Colorado counties all since 2011.

In Pueblo County convictions include two counts of felony menacing with a weapon and felony escape.
But cases under his name also show an arrest in El Paso County for aggravated car theft.

Hensley, a convicted felon who wasn’t allowed to own a gun, is now at the center of an investigation as a rookie police officer recovers in the hospital.

We aren’t sure which Colorado Springs hospital the officer is recovering at. We called around, but because of medical privacy laws, no one would confirm his surgery or recovery status.