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Joan de Jesus Rodriguez-Godinez

Age : 21

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/23/2023

Location : East Colfax Avenue and North Havana Street

City : Aurora

County : Arapahoe

State : Colorado

Agency : Aurora Police Department

Officer(s) :Caleb Joseph Parrella

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police while fleeing after confrontation with alleged thief

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/23/2023, at approximately 2:31 a.m., 21-year-old Joan de Jesus Rodriguez-Godinez was at a bus stop at the southwest corner of East Colfax Avenue and North Havana Street in Aurora. Aurora Police Officers Caleb Parrella and Kevin Carbajal were parked nearby monitoring the intersection through the city's MESH surveillance-camera system.
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Parrella observed Rodriguez-Godinez and 32-year-old Dominique Harris arguing over a backpack. The subsequent police investigation determined that Harris was attempting to take Rodriguez-Godinez's backpack. Harris was later issued a summons for misdemeanor theft.
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According to police, Rodriguez-Godinez produced a handgun during the confrontation and pointed it at Harris. Parrella and Carbajal drove toward the bus stop after observing the confrontation on the surveillance camera.
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Rodriguez-Godinez ran as the officers approached. Parrella got out of his patrol vehicle and ordered Rodriguez-Godinez to put his hands in the air. Rodriguez-Godinez continued running. The District Attorney's subsequent review found that Rodriguez-Godinez turned toward Parrella while running but expressly stated that it was unclear whether Rodriguez-Godinez had the gun in his hand or was reaching toward it in his waistband.
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Parrella fired at Rodriguez-Godinez, striking him. Police Chief Art Acevedo stated after reviewing body-camera footage that Rodriguez-Godinez did not appear to have fired at police.
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Rodriguez-Godinez remained on the ground after being shot. Officers did not immediately approach him, waiting approximately four minutes for additional officers to arrive before providing medical assistance. He was transported to a hospital and died approximately 20 minutes later.
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The Arapahoe County Coroner determined that Rodriguez-Godinez suffered a gunshot wound entering the back-left portion of his arm, exiting the inner arm and re-entering the left side of his chest. The bullet was recovered from his right lung. The coroner determined the cause of death was the gunshot wound of the left arm and chest and classified the manner of death as homicide.
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The 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team investigated the killing. District Attorney John Kellner subsequently reviewed body-camera and surveillance video, forensic evidence, dispatch and radio records, witness interviews and officer statements. On 04/23/2024, Kellner announced that Parrella would not face criminal charges, concluding that his use of deadly force was legally justified.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Caleb Joseph Parrella had approximately four years of service with the Aurora Police Department when he killed Rodriguez-Godinez. Kevin Carbajal-Vazquez responded with Parrella but did not fire his weapon.
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Parrella had previously been named as a defendant in federal civil-rights litigation arising from the June 2020 police response to a violin vigil honoring Elijah McClain. The lawsuit alleged that Parrella was among Aurora officers who used force against people attending the vigil and specifically alleged that he jabbed and struck multiple participants with his baton. Those were civil allegations rather than criminal findings.
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Parrella was also named as a defendant in a separate federal civil-rights lawsuit filed by Antonio Johnson on 08/17/2023, six days before Parrella killed Rodriguez-Godinez. The case named the City of Aurora, Parrella and Officer Brendan Daves as defendants.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://kdvr.com/news/local/aurora-police-officers-involved-in-shooting-colfax-havana/
https://www.auroragov.org/residents/public_safety/police/APD_news/a_p_d_news_august_2023/officer-_involved_shooting
https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/man-pulls-gun-alleged-thief-shot-killed-aurora-police/
https://arapahoeco.gov/Coda18/Documents/Blogs/CIRT-23-05-APD-Colfax-and-Havana.pdf