A man died after being shot by Aurora police during confrontation that followed a traffic stop

AURORA, Colo. — An Aurora police officer shot and killed a man during a confrontation that followed a traffic stop near the intersection of Interstate 225 and 6th Avenue Saturday evening, police said.

Denver7’s Maggy Wolanske heard from Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain and from witnesses at the scene to get answers about what happened.

The officer tried to conduct a “routine” traffic stop following an unspecified violation by a driver around 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The driver, though, continued driving and hit at least two other cars, Chamberlain said.

The suspect then got out of his car and walked toward the officer, Chamberlain said, and “appeared” to be walking toward a handgun that was at the scene. Chamberlain said the suspect continued to walk toward the officer “in an aggressive posture” and appeared to shout for other people at the scene to confront the officer with him.

The officer, who Chamberlain said was working alone and had backed into the intersection during the exchange, eventually fired “one to three rounds” at the suspect. A witness who told Denver7 they were in the first vehicle that was rear-ended by the suspect vehicle said “at least three” shots were fired.

Firefighters who arrived at the scene thereafter pronounced the suspect dead.

Much was unknown about the specific details of the exchange between the officer and the suspect prior to the shooting, Chamberlain said. A witness said at one point the suspect was walking away from the officer but that the two “engaged” for about a minute-and-a-half to two minutes before shots were fired.

It was not clear where the handgun on the scene came from. An investigation will also look into the aid – or lack thereof – given to the suspect by the officer. A witness told Denver7 multiple officers on scene did not render aid.

“It doesn’t appear that [aid] was allowed for based upon the actions of the individuals around and even based upon the actions of the suspect,” he said.

Chamberlain said, though, that body worn camera, Flock cameras in the area and potential bystander video all may have captured the incident on video.

He promised a thorough investigation, which would happen in conjunction with the district attorney’s office.

“We are going to do everything, both internal and external, to make sure that this investigation […] is transparent, it is 100% valid, and it is factual,” Chamberlain said. “That is our goal of what we will do with this investigation. That is our goal of what we will do with the partnership with the district attorney’s office and the investigators from throughout this area that will be looking into this matter right now.”