DA Clears Greeley Officer of Wrongdoing in November Shooting
A Greeley police officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing in regards to a November shooting incident.
Officers received a report that shots were being fired from a white vehicle in the area of 13th Street and 26th Avenue in Greeley around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 14.
They spotted the vehicle speeding southbound on Highway 85 in Eaton, and pursued the car until it made its way back to Greeley.
Police saw the car again near 37th street, and chased it until the vehicle stopped near 37th Street and Marigold Avenue.
Two suspects then exited the car and fired several rounds at the officers, wounding one of them. One of the suspects was also injured.
The second suspect fled and barricaded himself inside his residence, according to 9 News. Greeley and Weld County SWAT teams arrived.
As the teams began to circle the house, they heard a gunshot from inside. When searching the home, they found the suspect, later identified as 40-year-old Russell Cooley, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Both the injured suspect and the officer were in stable condition following the shooting. The officer was released from the hospital on November 18.
The Critical Incident Response team (CIRT), investigated the incident and provided their findings to the District Attorney's Office.
On Tuesday (January 7), Weld District Attorney Michael Rourke ruled that, based on the investigation, the officer was justified in firing at Cooley.
His reasoning for the ruling was that Cooley had eluded and shot at the officers.