Denver District Attorney John Walsh said Monday evening that he will not pursue charges against Denver Police Officer Whaylen Phares in the fatal shooting of Javier Nava-Carbajal, 48, on Aug. 22.
“After a thorough review of the evidence in the case, I believe that the use of force by Officer Whaylen Phares was justified based on Colorado law regarding use of force in self-defense and in defense of others,” Walsh said in a pess release.
Phares and two other officers responded to a call made just after 4 a.m. of eight shots fired on the third floor of an apartment at 4901 E. Donald Ave. After arriving, the officers received a second report of a domestic violence assault in the same building. They then saw a woman running down the stairs with Nava-Carbajal in pursuit.
Nava-Carbajal refused police orders to stop and then attempted to leave on a bike and then on foot. The officers pursued him and failed in repeated attempts to arrest him after he resisted.
The officers saw a weapon in Nava-Carbajal’s hand, which he told them wasn’t real. But he also refused to let go of it. Officer Christopher Palmisanoattempted to wrest the revolver from his hand as the two wrestled on the ground. It was then that Nava-Carbajal allegedly grabbed at Palmisano’s holster.
As Nava-Carbajal stood up, Phares, fired his weapon and hit Nava-Carbajal near his left clavicle, killing him. Phares said he feared Palmisano, who was still on the ground and vulnerable, would be shot.
The Denver Crime Lab determined that Nava-Carbajal was holding a CO2 pellet gun that he had loaded with six live 9 millimeter rounds visible from the outside. The gun couldn’t fire live rounds, but it was a realistic replica. Nava-Carbajal likely was not behind the original call of shots fired.
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