Tensions flare amid disputed version of police shooting of Denver teen

Prosecutors have promised a thorough investigation into the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old girl in Denver, amid angry protests and disputed versions of the circumstances of her killing.

Jessica Hernandez was shot dead while driving through a middle-class area of Denver on Monday morning. Denver police have said two officers opened fire only after the teen — who they said was driving a stolen car — struck one of them with the vehicle.

But a passenger who was in the vehicle at the time of the shooting has disputed that account. Speaking to The Associated Press late Tuesday, the teenage witness said that Hernandez hit the officer only after she was shot, and that it was due to her being unconscious that she lost control of the car.

The shooting sparked angry scenes outside the office of District Attorney Mitch Morrissey on Tuesday, with a group of about 20 demonstrators calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the death of Hernandez.

The incident also occurred on the back of a national debate about police use of force, fueled by racially charged episodes in Ferguson, Missouri, and in New York City.

Monday's shooting was the fourth time in seven months that a Denver police officer has fired into a moving vehicle after perceiving it as a threat, and the city's independent police monitor said he will investigate the department's policies and practices related to shooting at moving vehicles, which he said poses unique safety risks.

Morrissey was not there during the tense confrontation at his office on Tuesday, where Chief Deputy District Attorneys Doug Jackson and Lamar Sims spoke over shouts and obscenities from some of the protesters.

Jackson said he could not discuss the case, but assured the group that the findings of his office's investigation would be made public when it is finished. "You can decide whether we made the right decision or not," Jackson said.

The girl's cousin, Jose Castaneda, said he was frustrated and didn't want to wait months to find out what happened. "Let me ask you one question,” he yelled. “How would you feel if it was your kid?"

Protesters said they don't trust Morrissey's office to handle the case because the last time a Denver police officer faced charges in a shooting was 1992.

"We are sick and tired of these kinds of things happening, and there seems to be no true objective investigation," said the Rev. Patrick Demmer of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance.

Police have said that Hernandez was one of five people in the stolen car, and that she drove into a police officer at the time of the incident.

The four other people in the car were not injured by the gunfire. All were questioned as part of the investigation, but none has been charged.

The shooting happened early Monday after an officer was called to check on a suspicious vehicle. A colleague arrived after the officer determined the car had been reported stolen, Police Chief Robert White said.

Police said in a statement that the two officers then "approached the vehicle on foot when the driver drove the car into one of the officers."

Both officers then opened fire, police said. One was treated and released from a hospital for a leg injury. Department spokesman Sonny Jackson wouldn't elaborate on the officer's injury or comment further about the case.

The medical examiner said Hernandez was shot multiple times, but did not release further details.

The passenger who spoke to the AP said they were unaware the vehicle was stolen, and provided only vague details about what the group of teenagers was doing earlier in the night.

A shrine of red and white flowers and candles, along with a white teddy bear, marked the shooting scene on Tuesday.

Magaly Castaneda, 17, a friend of Hernandez, visited the site and said she doubted Hernandez would have intentionally hit an officer.

"She didn't even get time to think that she was going to get shot," Castaneda said.

By law, police are allowed to use force to stop and overcome the resistance of another person. They can use it to match the force and overcome it.

Both officers involved in the shooting have been placed on routine administrative leave pending the investigation.

The Associated Press