AURORA | Two Aurora police officers were placed on administrative leave after a “dramatic and volatile” series of events that included a brief car chase police shooting a man suspected of shooting another person Saturday night.
Police and coroner officials identified that dead shooting suspect Tuesday as Jose Rodriguez-Balderrama, 28.
“It’s kind of a lot of things going on here for the officers,” Interim Aurora Police Chief Heather Morris said during a press conference Saturday night.
The police shooting incident began at about 7:45 p.m. May 4 when multiple people called police dispatch to report gunfire at the apartment complex on the 1400 block of Clinton Street in northwest Aurora.
Callers told police that a man had been shot while outside in the apartment complex, and that the shooting suspect had driven away in a red Mustang.
En route, police saw a red Mustang in the area and engaged in a brief chase, then losing sight of the car.
“Officers located the victim, a 29-year-old Aurora man, who said (Rodriguez-Balderrama) arrived at his apartment earlier that evening,” police spokesperson Joe Moylan said in a statement. He told investigators that he knew Rodriguez-Balderrama, and that at one point, he pulled out a handgun.
“The victim told officers he and another resident ran out of the apartment after the suspect produced the handgun,” police said. Rodriguez-Balderrama “fired several shots at him, striking him in the leg.”
The other man was not injured during the gunfire.
“A motive for the shooting is not yet known and is part of the ongoing investigation,” Moylan said.
While officers were talking with the shooting victim, “several neighbors began yelling that the suspect had returned to the scene,” police said.
Police said Rodriguez-Balderrama was suddenly standing near the shooting victim’s apartment and had a handgun.
“Officers gave the suspect commands to show them his hands, at which point officers fired their handguns,” Moylan said. “The suspect was struck multiple times.”
Police said a 40-caliber handgun was taken from the shooting scene.
Morris said investigations by Aurora police, a Critical Incident Response Team, which includes the 18th Judicial District investigators, and an Aurora police internal affairs unit are all charged with detailing what happened at the time of the shooting.
Rescuers tried to resucitate Rodriguez-Balderrama at the scene, and he was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The two Aurora officers who fired at Rodriguez-Balderrama were placed on administrative leave, per Aurora police policy.
The officers are M. Crewse, a three-year veteran of the department and M. Laurita, a four-year veteran.