Shocking bodycam footage has revealed the moment a Colorado police officer shot and killed a motorist after he claimed she was reaching for a gun.
Police in Westminster, Colorado say Alysha Duran, 46, went for a gun on July 25 when a cop approached her car when it was stopped on the wrong side of the road.
The panicked officer immediately ran after her car after noticing the firearm, which is not visible on the footage, screaming “what do you have there?” for opening fire after just a few seconds.
The fatal shot was fired through her rear driver’s side window, eventually killing Duran and ending up in the windshield of the car across the road from her.
Viewers are divided by the incident, with some claiming that the officer, identified only as ‘N. Adams’ by police, fired too quickly, while others argued the killing was justified.
Alysha Duran, 46, was shot and killed by a Colorado police officer on July 25 after she allegedly tried to grab a gun
The bodycam footage begins with the police officer approaching Duran and asking her if she is okay and why she is being stopped on the wrong side of the road
The bodycam footage begins with the police officer arriving to a bizarre situation where Duran is stopped on the road, facing another vehicle. It’s unclear what prompted Duran to quit this way.
After speaking to the other driver, he approached Duran as she sat alone in her stone-faced car. She then seems to ignore him when he orders her to roll down her window, it takes a while before she finally obeys.
When the officer tried to ask if she was okay and what she was doing on the road, she grabbed her necklace and started rubbing it. The exchange then quickly escalates when the officer sees a gun next to her.
“After several attempts to talk to the driver, she pulled out a gun,” Westminster Police said in a statement accompanying the bodycam footage.
‘What have you got there? What have you got there? Oh f***,” the officer yelled after discovering the firearm.
When the officer approaches the car, a stone-faced Duran appears to ignore his instructions to roll down her window for some time before finally complying.
After a brief conversation, the officer sees a gun in the car and yells “what have you got there?” What have you got there? Oh f***’
The officer draws his gun and sprints behind the car, a common police technique used by police to distance themselves from perceived danger
He then draws his gun and fires out of Duran’s rear driver’s side window, and the bullet passed through Duran before landing in the windshield of the vehicle opposite her, seen on the left.
While berating Duran, the officer grabbed his own gun from its holster and sprinted into the back of her car, a common technique used by police to increase the distance between them and the perceived danger.
After pausing for only a few seconds, the officer opened fire, smashing the rear driver’s side window and hitting Duran. The bullet passed through her and landed in the windshield of an innocent bystander’s car.
Duran was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
At the time of the incident, Westminster Police Chief Cheri Spottke said a gun was later found in the woman’s car and that the officer who fired the shot had been with the police for more than 20 years, according to 9News.
“We understand that incidents like this deeply affect our citizens, family members and employees,” the department’s statement said.
“We understand the concerns that arise after an officer was involved in a shooting. It is important to remember that these situations are complex and our officers often have to make split-second decisions.”
The officer was placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, according to department policy.
The bullet struck an innocent bystander’s vehicle, though thankfully they were not injured in the terrifying incident
Westminster Police (pictured) said in a statement that it is ‘important to remember that these situations are complex and often involve difficult decisions by our officers’.
Reviewing the bodycam footage, former police officer and sheriff’s deputy James Allbee (pictured) said the shooting was justified because the officer followed proper police procedure
Some have argued online that the shooting was unjustified and that the police officer may have fired too quickly without giving Duran a chance to explain why she had the firearm.
Months earlier, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a sweeping set of gun control restrictions into law, including expanding the ways guns can be seized, making it easier for victims to sue gun makers, raising the minimum age and imposing a three-day cooling-off period on purchases.
However, the shooting was justified by former police officer and sheriff’s deputy, James Allbee, who narrated it FOX31 he believed the officer was staying within the confines of a legal shooting.
“Based on his actions, that would be consistent with trying to distance himself from an imminent threat,” he said.
“In the times we live in, anything can eventually become dangerous, and luckily the officer was paying enough attention and didn’t let his guard down to the point that luckily no one else was hurt.”
He added that it was “interesting” that Duran appeared to be rubbing her necklace before the shooting.