x
Breaking News
More () »

Officers tried for nearly an hour to defuse hostage situation ahead of deadly shooting

One of the hostages suffered a stab wound to the chest, according to Denver Police.

DENVER — Denver Police officers worked for nearly an hour to bring a hostage situation to a peaceful conclusion before fatally shooting a man who was armed with a knife inside a northeast Denver home and holding two people hostage earlier this month.

About 8:30 p.m. May 1, Denver Police said, officers responded to a family disturbance in the 2000 block of North Oneida Street in the South Park Hill neighborhood.

"Throughout the interaction, the suspect seemed agitated and was often yelling while speaking," DPD commander Matt Clark said Wednesday. "At times he appeared to be yelling at the two individuals he was holding in the room."

DPD released a nearly hourlong clip of body camera footage. 

> The video below a portion of that body camera footage - showing the beginning of the interaction and what happened just before the shooting. Content Warning: The video shows a fatal shooting and may be disturbing to some viewers.

It shows that when officers arrived at the home, they were met by a woman outside who reported that the suspect was inside armed with a knife. She had called 911 and also reported that her nephew, 55-year-old Frankie Lee Evans, had used narcotics earlier in the evening.

The footage shows the woman handing an officer a key who used it to unlock a door and enter the home. Once inside, the officer encountered Evans and two people in a backroom. Evans, who was armed with a knife, slammed the bedroom door and refused to exit or allow those in the room with him to come out.

The officer, who had prior contact with Evans on April 14, repeatedly called him by name and asked him to talk with him and exit the room, but Evans refused. The officers were able to get verbal confirmation from both hostages that they were not physically hurt.

The officer told Evans they were there to help and asked what they could do to resolve the situation safely. At one point, the officer told Evans he hadn't done anything that he couldn't recover from.

A mental health clinician also responded and tried to speak with Evans, who refused to talk to her and only wanted to speak with the officers, the body camera footage shows.

They negotiated for nearly an hour before a scuffle was heard from inside, which resulted from the male victim's attempt to disarm Evans, Clark said.

At that time, the officers moved toward the bedroom door and kicked it open. Once it was open, Evans was seen with a knife struggling with the male victim in the room.

"The officers recognized that the male victim was attempting to hold or push the arm of the armed subject away from him to avoid being stabbed," Clark said. "The officers said they felt the male victim was in serious jeopardy of being injured or killed."

At that point, two DPD officer discharged their weapons, striking Evans multiple times. They fired a combined total of five rounds, Clark said.

"It's very quick, it's chaotic," Clark said. "They had to make some very quick analysis and decisions ... and when they feel it's safe and there's sufficient separation between the two subjects, the officers discharged their weapons. They were very intentional."

That stopped the assault, and neither of the hostages were hit by gunfire. Both were checked out at the scene, and the male victim was taken to hospital for treatment of a stab wound to the chest. He's since been released and is expected to recover, Clark said.

Evans was pronounced dead at the scene.

Both victims later reported that Evans was holding the knife throughout the entire incident and preventing them from leaving the room, Clark said.

The conflict which prompted the initial 911 call and hostage situation stemmed from an allegation of a previously unreported assault between the male and female hostages, Clark said. 

A separate investigation was launched into those allegations to determine if any charges might be warranted, he said. 

Both officers are on modified duty assignments, Clark said. One is a sergeant who's been with the department since 2013. The other is a patrol officer who's been with DPD since 2019.

SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Investigations & Crime

9NEWS+ 

Watch more from 9NEWS on the free 9NEWS+ app for Roku and Fire TV.      

9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.      

To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.       

To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.  

MORE WAYS TO GET 9NEWS 

Subscribe to our daily 9NEWSLETTER for top stories from 9NEWS curated daily just for you. Get content and information right now for can’t-miss stories, Next and Broncos content, weather and more delivered right to your inbox.   

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP 

iTunes: http://on9news.tv/itunes
Google Play: http://on9news.tv/1lWnC5n  

HOW TO ADD THE FREE 9NEWS+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE 

ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KUSA. 

For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "9NEWS" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.

Before You Leave, Check This Out