4 Colorado officers cleared in fatal December shooting

DENVER, Colo. (AP) — Four police officers from three different Colorado departments will not be charged after firing their weapons during a fatal confrontation with a robbery suspect in December, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Westminster police said Hunter Lowry had committed several robberies while armed with a knife at multiple auto parts stores Dec. 6, KUSA-TV reported.

Lowry, 23, robbed an AutoZone in Federal Heights and cut an employee when confronted, authorities said, adding that during the altercation the employee’s phone ended up in Lowry’s vehicle which was used to track him.

Lowry later crashed into two other vehicles while attempting to flee authorities and ran from the scene into an alley where two gunshots were heard, authorities said.

Police eventually caught up and used a Taser to force Lowry to the ground as he was attempting to climb over a fence. When he fell, a handgun also fell and Lowry reached for the weapon before officers opened fire.

Two Westminster officers, one Thornton officer and one Federal Heights officer shot Lowry more than two dozen times, a medical examiner said.

When the officers were interviewed, each of them said when they fired their weapons they were in fear for their lives and the lives of the other responding officers, according to the letter released by the 17th judicial district attorney’s office on Tuesday.

The letter also said Lowry “continued to ignore their (the officers’) many commands” and said the evidence does not support the filing of criminal charges and it would be unlikely to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that their actions were not justified.