Boulder DA: Boulder officer justified in firing weapon at King Soopers shooting suspect
BOULDER, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Twentieth Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday Boulder Police Officer Richard Steidell was justified in firing his weapon at the man accused of killing 10 people at a King Soopers.
According to the DA's decision letter, just before 2:30 p.m. on March 22, the suspect pulled into the parking lot of the King Soopers supermarket at Table Mesa Drive. He left his car and began shooting at individuals in the parking lot before running towards the east entrance and entering the store, where he continued shooting.
At 2:30 p.m., Boulder Police Dispatch received its first 9-1-1 call. Within a minute of that call, BPD officers were dispatched to the scene.
Steidell was part of the second entry group into the King Soopers, entering just before 2:38 p.m. Before discharging his weapon, multiple shots were fired at the officers, who wore clearly marked police uniforms.
These rounds passed directly over the officers heads, striking the entrance doors.
At the time he fired his weapon, Steidell believed civilians had been shot and a fellow officer had either been killed or critically wounded.
An investigation into the shooting determined that one of Steidell's shots struck the suspect in the right thigh. The DA's letter also states:
Steidell believed that the use of force was required to prevent an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death to himself or another peace officer. His beliefs were both objectively reasonable and, upon further review, correct
20th Judicial District Attorney's Office
Without firing another shot, the shooter surrendered to SWAT and was taken to the Boulder County Hospital for treatment. He was later discharged to a local jail.
Additionally, no other officer fired a weapon at the suspect. The last shots to ring out in the grocery store were the rounds fired by Steidell.
The suspect now faces multiple charges. On April 21, prosecutors filed an additional 43 charges against the suspect, totaling 54 charges.
Those charges are:
- 10 counts of first-degree murder
- 33 counts of attempted first-degree murder
- 1 count of first-degree assault
- 10 counts of using a prohibited large capacity magazine during a crime
During that shooting, ten people died, including a Boulder Police Officer. These are the names of all ten victims:
- Denny Stong, 20
- Neven Stanisic, 23
- Rikki Olds 25,
- Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
- Suzanne Fountain, 59
- Teri Leiker, 51
- BPD Officer Eric Talley, 51
- Kevin Mahoney, 61
- Lynn Murray, 62
- Jody Waters, 65
Click here for more information on how to help the families of the victims and the survivors of the shooting.
