Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Drew Dominick Lucero
Age : 37
Gender : Male
Race : Latino/a/e
Date : 09/03/2021
Location : 5300 Billings Street
City : Denver
County : Denver
State : Colorado
Agency : Westminster Police Department
Officer(s) :Anthony Stroup; Chris Neal; Kevin Flores
Cause of Death : Gunshot
Event : Killed by police during surveillance operation
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 09/03/2021, 37-year-old Drew Lucero was shot and killed by Westminster Police Department officers Anthony Stroup, Chris Neal and Kevin Flores while officers attempted to arrest him at 5343 Billings Street in Denver.
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Westminster police were seeking Lucero on warrants for attempted murder, first-degree assault and first-degree burglary. The charges stemmed from a 09/16/2020 incident in which police alleged Lucero shot his former girlfriend. On 09/02/2021, the same woman reported that Lucero had returned to her home, threatened her and damaged property.
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Investigators located Lucero's vehicle outside the Billings Street residence. Four Westminster officers conducted surveillance for more than four hours before Lucero came out of the house at approximately 7:30 p.m.
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According to the Denver District Attorney's investigation, when the officers emerged from their surveillance van, Lucero pulled a handgun and fired one round toward them. Police returned fire, and Lucero moved behind a parked vehicle.
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Police used a flash-bang grenade while advancing on Lucero and deployed a police dog, which bit Lucero on the leg. Stroup, Neal and Flores fired their weapons while advancing. The officers reported that Lucero pointed his handgun toward them more than once.
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The three officers fired a combined 27 rounds. Lucero was struck in the right shoulder, right chest, left calf, lower right back and lower left back.
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Police took Lucero into custody and transported him to Denver Health Medical Center. He died less than two hours after the shooting. The autopsy determined that he died from multiple gunshot wounds.
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A multi-agency team involving Denver and Aurora police investigated the shooting. On 11/29/2021, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann ruled that Stroup, Neal and Flores were legally justified in shooting Lucero and declined to file criminal charges.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Anthony Stroup had previously participated in the fatal 05/04/2016 police shooting of Damon Blair in Westminster. Blair allegedly fired at Officer Steven Stockman during an attempted arrest. Stroup fired eight rounds; four other Westminster officers also fired, for a combined 46 police rounds. Blair was struck 13 times. The 17th Judicial District Attorney ruled that shooting justified.
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Stroup was also named as a defendant in a 2019 federal civil-rights lawsuit, Cushinberry v. City of Westminster, along with Westminster Officer Koltin Fatzinger and another officer. The case was filed under 42 U.S.C. §1983. The docket establishes the lawsuit but not a finding of liability against Stroup.
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SOURCE LINKS :
https://www.denverpost.com/2021/09/04/westminster-police-shooting-denver-billings-street/
https://www.denverda.org/news-release/11011-2/
https://adamsbroomfieldda.org/userfiles/2358/files/OIS-12-6-19.pdf
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/colorado/codce/1%3A2019cv00491/186845
