Police shooting involving three Colorado Springs police officers on North Academy ruled justified

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The use of deadly force by three Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) officers on April 4 that killed a man outside a McDonald's in the 1200 block of North Academy Boulevard has been ruled justified, according to the 4th Judicial District Attorney's (DA) Office.

The DA's full review can be viewed below:

According to officials, several CSPD officers and one El Paso County Sheriff's Office deputy were patrolling in a "high crime area" just before 11 p.m. on April 4, when they identified the victim, Benjamin Greenfield, pulling into a McDonald's parking lot.

The DA's office says Officers Michael Dauchy, Mitchell Mueller and Daniel White, along with several other CSPD officers, pulled into the parking lot. One identified a woman getting out of the victim's car and believed a drug deal was taking place, according to the DA's office.

Officials say Greenfield was known to them from previous drug and weapons convictions, as well as fleeing from law enforcement. A few weeks before the shooting, Greenfield had been identified as a suspect in an arson investigation involving the FBI.

They then coordinated a blockade using their vehicles. Officer Mueller was assigned to the block car, which is an unmarked, reinforced car, according to officials.

The DA's report states the officers then coordinated the block of Greenfield's car, including turning on their emergency lights and beginning to issue verbal commands for him to exit his car. Officials say Greenfield did not respond to commands, and his car had tinted windows that made it hard to see inside.

The DA's office then says officers began to deploy non-lethal methods. According to officials, Officer Mueller had a pepper-ball gun he was ready to use. Before that, Officer Dauchy picked up rocks from the parking lot and threw them at Greenfield's window to create an opening.

The DA's report states that before the pepper-ball gun could be deployed, officers noted Greenfield "reaching around" inside his car, and officers moved into covered positions behind their cars.

That is when Greenfield fired a shot through his window at police officers, according to officials. The round hit the bulletproof windshield of the car Officer Mueller was operating and ricocheted off. That is when Officers Mueller, Dauchy and White responded by firing several rounds into Greenfield's car.

According to officials, Officer White fired 17 rounds, Officer Dauchy fired 16 rounds, and Officer Mueller fired six rounds from their handguns. Greenfield was hit ten times, and officers then attempted life-saving efforts and took him to a hospital, where he later died.

The DA's report states officers recovered two handguns from Greenfield's car. All the CSPD officers had their body-worn cameras on. The footage from the cameras was later released by CSPD and can be viewed here.

The DA's report rules that the use of deadly force in the incident by all three officers was justified, in part because it was used in a way that did not create "substantial risk of injury or death to other people," and less-lethal options were used previously.

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