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Colorado teenager was fatally shot while running away from off-duty officer, lawsuit says
Colorado teenager was fatally shot while running away from off-duty officer, lawsuit says
The death of Alexis Mendez-Perez, 16, drew protests in Denver calling for the off-duty corrections officer to be criminally charged.
Aug. 27, 2020, 4:16 PM EDT / Updated Aug. 28, 2020, 8:42 AM EDT
By Erik Ortiz
The family of a Colorado teenager filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing an off-duty corrections officer of using deadly force "recklessly" and "without warning" when he fatally shot the teen in his backyard as a group of friends were fleeing the scene of a home break-in.
The wrongful death complaint filed in Denver District Court comes four months after the death of Alexis Mendez-Perez, 16, and more than two months after Denver District Attorney Beth McCann declined to file charges against the shooter, Desmond Manning, 46, who was a state Department of Corrections criminal investigator at the time. He was terminated from the department in July, a spokeswoman confirmed, but did not give a reason.
McCann said she believed there wasn't enough evidence to compel a jury to find Manning guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt and prove he wasn't acting in self-defense.
[...]
The death of Alexis Mendez-Perez, 16, drew protests in Denver calling for the off-duty corrections officer to be criminally charged.
Aug. 27, 2020, 4:16 PM EDT / Updated Aug. 28, 2020, 8:42 AM EDT
By Erik Ortiz
The family of a Colorado teenager filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing an off-duty corrections officer of using deadly force "recklessly" and "without warning" when he fatally shot the teen in his backyard as a group of friends were fleeing the scene of a home break-in.
The wrongful death complaint filed in Denver District Court comes four months after the death of Alexis Mendez-Perez, 16, and more than two months after Denver District Attorney Beth McCann declined to file charges against the shooter, Desmond Manning, 46, who was a state Department of Corrections criminal investigator at the time. He was terminated from the department in July, a spokeswoman confirmed, but did not give a reason.
McCann said she believed there wasn't enough evidence to compel a jury to find Manning guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt and prove he wasn't acting in self-defense.
[...]