AURORA, Colo. — John Kellner, 18th Judicial District Attorney, said he will not file charges in the Aurora Police shooting death of 14-year-old Jor'Dell Richardson.
9NEWS reported last week that no charges would be filed after a source was told of the decision. The DA made the official announcement on Wednesday.
The Aurora Police Department said in a news conference on June 9 that officers chased Jor'Dell after one officer with Aurora Police's gang unit saw a group of teens wearing medical masks and hoodies approaching a liquor store near East Eighth Avenue and North Dayton Street on June 1. Thinking it was suspicious, he called for other gang officers to respond and investigate.
Police said that moments later, the teens ran from the store after robbing it of several vape canisters. Officers learned that at least one of the teens had threatened the clerk with a firearm. Police later said that it was Jor'Dell who displayed a pellet gun to the clerk by pulling up his shirt.
Officers tackled Jor'Dell nearby, and one of them, Officer Roch Gruszeczka, is heard on body camera video yelling at Jor'Dell to let go of the gun and saying that he will shoot Jor'Dell. He then fired a single round that struck Jor'Dell's abdomen. Jor'Dell later died.
Shortly before the shot was fired, Jor'Dell can be heard on the body camera video saying, "Stop please, you got me."
But Kellner's decision letter says Gruszeczka did not report hearing any statements by Jor'Dell attempting to surrender and that even if he had, he would not be required to take those words at face value because Jor'Dell was still actively struggling with him for control of the gun when the words were said.
The body camera video does not show Jor'Dell reaching for a gun, but the decision letter says surveillance video from a nearby bar and grill shows Jor'Dell moving his right hand toward his waist area after he was tackled.
Police initially said Jor'Dell was armed with a semi-automatic weapon, but Kellner said Aurora Police investigators knew "nearly immediately" following the shooting that the teenager was carrying a pellet gun.
However Aurora Police Interim Chief Art Acevedo continued to tell community members and Jor'Dell's parents for days that the 14 year-old was carrying a real gun. Eight days after the shooting he said at the news conference it was actually a pellet gun that was an exact replica of a 9 mm handgun.
Aurora Police said Acevedo confirmed June 8 that the gun was a replica and has since implemented a new information-sharing process for future critical incidents.
The decision letter says the gun had "no markings, coloration, or alterations that would indicate upon visual inspection that this was a simulated or replica handgun, as opposed to an actual handgun capable of firing bullets". It concludes that Officer Gruszeczka's belief that Jor'Dell was armed with a deadly weapon was "objectively reasonable."
Kellner says Jor'Dell himself may have believed he was carrying a real firearm, as information provided by the other robbery suspects indicates that everyone who was involved in it, including Jor'Dell, likely believed the simulated firearm was real.
Kellner notes in the letter that verbal commands, threats of less than lethal force, the application of physical force by Gruszeczka and another officer and a warning of the impending use of lethal force were insufficient to cause Jor'Dell to disarm himself.
Kellner says Gruszeczka "possessed an objectively reasonable belief that the individual (Jor'Dell) was capable of inflicting serious bodily injury or death on either Officer Snapp or Officer Gruszeczka at the time of the OIS (officer-involved shooting), and concludes that the use of deadly physical force was not a criminal action.
Aurora Police said Gruszeczka has been with the department since 2017 and has served with the gang unit since 2019. He was placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with agency policy but has since been returned to full duty.
Aurora Police Chief Art Acevedo released the following statement in response to Kellner's decision:
"This afternoon, the Aurora Police Department received, and I have reviewed, the Report of Findings Regarding the Officer-Involved Shooting in Aurora on June 1, 2023. We continue to offer our deepest sympathies to Jor’Dell Richardson’s family and friends. Consistent with my previous statements, our officers had to make split-second decisions based upon the information available to them and their own observations. I believe the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) made a fair and just decision today following a comprehensive analysis of all the facts over the last three months. Regardless of this finding, the death of a young man is a tragedy for his family and extended community, and it will continue to weigh heavily on members of our department.
"In addition to the aforementioned CIRT investigation, the department is in the final stages of a separate internal investigation to determine what, if any, policy violations occurred related to this incident and will share our findings as soon as the process is complete.
"It’s my hope that our community will come closer together and direct our collective energy toward comprehensive, meaningful and lasting solutions to empower our youth. It is in this spirit that I called for a summit to address the many challenges facing today’s youth ranging from high frequency of violence to lack of quality educational and economic opportunities. This effort will not succeed unless we secure commitments from a wide range of community, business, and government leaders."
> The video below is the raw surveillance video of the shooting of Jor'Dell Richardson:
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