LOVELAND, Colo. — The Loveland officer who shot a teen armed with a knife after a family member called to report the teen was having a mental health crisis will not be charged, but questions remain about "practice and policy," according to a decision letter from the Eighth Judicial District Attorney's Office,
Alex Domina, 19, was shot by Officer Eddie Luzon on Aug. 16 and died on Sept. 7.
The 8th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), led by Fort Collins Police reported that someone in a Tennessee Street home called 911 just before 7 p.m. on Aug. 16 and requested police assistance for a male family member who was experiencing a mental health crisis and "actively damaging the home."
In the decision letter, the DA noted that analysis of whether charges were warranted could not include questions about things like the availability of other resources or the quality of de-escalation training, only whether the use of force was justified.
According to the DA's letter, just over a minute passed between when Luzon entered the gate to the yard and when shots were fired. During that time, the letter says, Luzon asked Domina to put the knife down three times and asked to talk to him four times. The letter goes on to say that once Domina moved toward the officer, he articulated some form of "stop" or "don't come near me" six times.
In follow-up interviews, Luzon was asked about his decision not to use a Taser and he said the likelihood of successfully using a Taser "would be slim," the decision letter says.
In those same interviews, he said he believed that he "failed" Domina but that he would not have done anything different in hindsight.
The CIRT interviewed Domina's family and his grandmother revealed that Domina had been in more than 40 different placements for his mental health issues but she had been granted temporary guardianship. She reported, according to the letter, that on the day of the shooting, Domina, experienced a "sudden and unusual" change in mood and she reported that she hadn't seen an outburst like it before and didn't know the cause.
At one point, according to the DA's letter, his grandmother said Domina was "way over medicated" and speculated that he "may have been trying to get shot by police."
She and her partner also told police, according to the letter, that there was potential for Domina to hurt them.
LPD released body-camera footage and the 911 call related to the incident on Aug. 25.
At one point the video shows Domina breaking patio furniture before he begins moving toward the officer with a knife in his hand. According to the decision letter from the DA's office, the knife was a chef-style knife with a blade that measured eight inches.
The officer warns Domina not to come near him, and to put the knife down, but he did not respond.
As Domina appeared to begin moving faster, the officer shot him three times in the stomach from several feet away.
When interviewed, according to the DA, Luzon said, he "felt like Domina was coming to stab me," and went on to say, "I didn't feel like that was something I would survive."
Officers rendered aid until additional help arrived and Domina was taken to the hospital, where he died days later.
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