THONRNTON, Colo. – A Colorado law enforcement agency has recently released video of a fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred in September. During the encounter, a suspect charged officers with a knife before he was shot.
The Thornton Police Department identified the deceased suspect as 29-year-old Darylray Lopez. Several citizens had called to report his alarming behavior while walking in traffic on the freeway prior to the encounter with officers.
Along with the Community Briefing video, Thornton police provided the following overview:
“On September 5th, 2022, at approximately 7:30 AM, officers were dispatched to the 8500 block of I-25 to check the well-being of a male party who was walking in traffic. Multiple people had called 9-1-1 to report that the male was causing cars on the highway to swerve. One caller stated she had almost hit the male with her car.
“When they arrived, officers located a 29-year-old male, now identified as 29-year-old Darylray Lopez, and attempted to talk to him in the 8500 block of northbound I-25. During the interaction, the male produced a knife, charged at an officer, and was shot by that Thornton PD officer. The male was transported to an area hospital where he later died. No officers or other people were injured in this incident.”
The Thornton Police Department noted the OIS investigation “was immediately turned over to the 17th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team and the officer who fired his weapon was placed on administrative leave per standard protocol. At the conclusion of that investigation, the case will be reviewed by the District Attorney’s Office.”
Although video of the critical incident was released, police said the investigation remains ongoing.
