Local law enforcement officials have released video footage for the first time of the Dec. 17, 2023, incident in which two City of Boulder officers fatally shot Jeanette Alatorre.
Alatorre, 51, sustained eight rifle shot wounds and died on the scene near the intersection of Broadway and Hawthorne Avenue, according to law enforcement officials. She had pointed what officers believed at the time was a handgun at officers and passing drivers. The gun was later found to be an air pistol designed to resemble a real handgun.
The Boulder Police Department on Thursday, March 14, posted a 9-minute and 34-second video that includes clips of footage and a narrator explaining the incident and police response. The department has created a webpage dedicated to providing information to the public about high-profile, critical incidents.
The release of the footage is part of an effort “to enhance our timely, transparent and effective communication with the Boulder community about these high-profile incidents,” according to the police department.
Separately, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty hosted a virtual townhall on Thursday to also share footage of the encounter, answer questions from the public and explain his decision not to file criminal charges against the two officers who shot Alatorre.
Last week, Dougherty issued a decision letter summarizing the findings of an investigation conducted by the Boulder County Investigation Team, comprising law enforcement officials from other jurisdictions tasked with investigating use-of-force incidents.
Dougherty said he reviewed reports from the team’s investigation and determined the two officers did not commit a criminal offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Alatorre had been pointing a Beretta APX .177 caliber air pistol, designed to look like a more powerful 9-millimeter handgun, in the direction of officers and at least two people in their automobiles.
“I feel terrible for everyone involved in this situation,” Dougherty said during the townhall. “The fact that the legal analysis was clear does not make it any less tragic.”
The newly released footage from the city and District Attorney’s Office provides a more vivid account of the Dec. 17 shooting.
The City of Boulder, meanwhile, has not yet provided Boulder Reporting Lab unedited body camera footage of any police shooting in the last year in response to multiple requests.
In response to a Feb. 5 request for body camera footage of the incident resulting in Alatorre’s death, the department requested a payment of $8,484. Boulder Reporting Lab has paid for and is awaiting the release of body camera footage related to a more narrow request.
Boulder Reporting Lab has submitted multiple requests for body camera footage related to the May 25, 2023 fatal shooting of a 36-year-old man. The most recent request was made in February and the department has not yet provided body camera footage of the incident. During that encounter, officers were responding to a domestic violence call. The man was in possession of a handgun. The district attorney declined to file charges after reviewing the investigation.
Journalists frequently request body camera footage because it can provide the public an objective, visual record of interactions between law enforcement officers and individuals, especially in fatal incidents. In 2020, following national protests over police killings, Colorado lawmakers passed Senate Bill 20-217. The law requires law enforcement agencies to release all unedited body camera footage and audio recordings of incidents if someone files a complaint.
During the virtual townhall on the more recent shooting, Dougherty said he had met with Alatorre’s family before sharing the footage of the shooting. He said she was very much loved by her family.
“It is a tremendous loss for them,” he said during the townhall. “My heart goes out to them.”
The townhall was held virtually on MS Teams with no other posted participants or video windows, there was no on-screen Q/A or chat. I spent most of the 1-1/2 hrs of the DA’s presentation e-mailing the administrator Shannon Carbone, trying to unsuccessfully find out why. It was a waste of my time.
I was surprised at the following paragraph:
In response to a Feb. 5 request for body camera footage of the incident resulting in Alatorre’s death, the department requested a payment of $8,484. Boulder Reporting Lab has paid for and is awaiting the release of body camera footage related to a more narrow request.
Is it normal that a police department requires payment to release information regarding its operations? On what basis?