Mother wants changes after deputies cleared of son’s death in Monument
The mother of a man killed during a standoff in Monument during late 2019 is asking for changes after the deputies involved will not face charges.
Crystina Page, the mother of the 20-year-old victim David Page, says she had warned El Paso County Sheriff’s Office that same day about her son’s mental health issues prior to the deadly encounter. Now, she wants local law enforcement to find alternative ways of dealing with mental health crisis interventions.
“I know that taking a life isn't easy so my prayers are with the officers,” said Crystina with tears in here eyes. "But it's very hard for me to know what to say to two people who took my baby."
Monument Police responded to reports that David was shooting at cars and pedestrians with an airsoft assault rifle on September 29, 2019. A total of five law enforcement agencies assisted after the suspect barricaded himself inside his apartment.
David’s family says the situation only escalated when El Paso County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Unit pulled up in front of the apartment complex.
"Militarized police response to mental health crises has unfortunately become normal in our country,” Crystina said. “Certainly between those five agencies they could have come up with a crisis response that was appropriate."
The 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office report states David pointed what SWAT deputies believed to be a semi-automatic pistol at them. Two deputies fired five shots, striking David three times and killing him.
Although the pistol aimed at the deputies was later confirmed to be a BB gun with the orange safety cap painted black, the District Attorney justified the shooting because the deputies had a reasonable belief that Page was going to "inflict serious bodily injury or endanger human life."
Still, Crystina says Monument Police had previous encounters with David and were able to de-escalate similar situations.
"He had recently found out that his son was stillborn and he was having an extremely negative emotional reaction to it,” she said regarding the last fatal encounter. “His heart was broken."
Josh Tolini, the Page family’s attorney, says it’s also concerning that the Colorado Springs Police Department and EPCSO will investigate each other after officer-involved shootings.
"To say that we get a neutral and detached and objective review on whether or not this was excessive or not, I really just don't think so,” Tolini said. “And I think we need something better moving forward for the community and specifically for the families."
