New details have emerged in the tragic incident involving the fatal shooting of Brandon Cole, 36, by a Denver police officer. Investigators now reveal that Cole, who was initially thought to be wielding a knife, was actually holding a black marker during the encounter that led to his death on the night of August 5.
Body-worn camera footage captured the tense moments as Cole raised the marker to chest level and charged at the officer, whose identity remains undisclosed. The officer responded by firing two shots, leading to Cole’s tragic demise.
Miraculously, a woman and a young child were standing directly behind Cole in the video and escaped unharmed. These two individuals were not connected to the initial police call that led to the encounter.
Addressing the heartbreaking incident, Chief Ron Thomas expressed his condolences during a press conference, stating, “This is a tremendous tragedy.” The Denver District Attorney’s Office will be tasked with determining the legality of the officer’s actions in shooting Cole.
The sequence of events began when a concerned neighbor dialed 911 to report a possible domestic violence situation involving Cole, his wife, and his teenage son, as reported by The Denver Post. Police Cmdr. Matt Clark explained that the caller conveyed that the woman may have been pushed out of her wheelchair and expressed concern that Cole was advancing aggressively toward his son.
Upon arriving at the scene, officers found the woman seated on the street next to her wheelchair. Body camera footage revealed her pleading with one of the officers, “Don’t, don’t pull your gun out on my husband, please.” Subsequently, Cole became agitated and was subjected to a stun gun when he moved closer to one of the officers.
Investigators now believe that only one probe from the stun gun actually made contact with Cole, failing to incapacitate him and preventing him from charging at another officer, who ultimately fired the fatal shots.
Chief Thomas acknowledged the challenging circumstances the officer faced, noting, “You can see in the video that when she finally deploys her duty weapon, the person is so close to her that the view of the young child and other person are not even clear to her. Certainly, that was a consideration, but there was not much time to act before she was overrun by that individual.”
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The police officer involved in the shooting, who joined the force in 2019, had not previously been involved in any shooting incidents. The incident has raised renewed discussions about police use of force and the complexities officers often face in high-pressure situations.
