Source: Helen H. Richardson / Getty
New details are emerging about the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Jor’Dell Richardson.
According to The Colorado Sun, officers James Snapp and Roch Gruszeczka did not know that 14-year-old Jor’Dell had robbed a convenience store with a group of associates just before they chased him to his death.
New bodycam footage captured Richardson and a group of five Black juveniles wearing hoodies and medical masks near a strip mall in west-central Aurora.
According to officials, shortly after, the late 14-year-old and his associates entered a convenience store near the intersection of Dayton Street and East Eighth Avenue and stole multiple vape canisters. Richardson allegedly flashed his pellet gun at the store clerk during the robbery, police said.
Audio from a police radio call revealed that James and Gruszeczka were staked out in front of the convenience store watching the boys to see if they were “scoping out” businesses to target.
“If we can set up some cars in the area. We’ve got some unmarkeds keeping an eye on it,” Snapp said in the newly released audio.
Officials say when the group began to walk out of the store, Snapp had a suspicious feeling that the troupe had robbed the establishment.
“They just shoplifted out of there,” Snapp speculated as he and Gruszeczka approached the strip mall to investigate. Both officers weren’t aware that Richardson had a pellet gun when they began to chase him and his associates.
Aurora police sergeant Faith Goodrich defended the officers.
Community members are outraged that the officers automatically assumed Richardson and his counterparts were up to no good without investigating the matter thoroughly, but Aurora police Sgt. Faith Goodrich maintains that the duo was well within protocol when they chased and shot the Colorado teen.
“While they may not have had the information about the robbery at the time of the chase, they certainly had reasonable suspicion that a crime had been committed,” Faith Goodrich told The Colorado Sun in a statement. “An officer does not need probable cause to stop or detain someone.”
On June 1, officers Snapp and Gruszeczka chased Richardson down an alley, shouting at him to surrender. Eventually, Snapp tackled the 14-year-old. According to NewsOne, bodycam footage captured Richardson begging with the officers for mercy just before Gruszeczka yelled at him to let go of his gun. Gruszeczka fired one round into the 14-year-old’s stomach, killing him instantly.
Aurora Police Chief Art Acevedo claimed that Richardson “pointed” the pellet gun at the officers despite video evidence dispelling the allegation.
The Denver Post reported that Richardson’s family and prominent community leaders will gather at the Aurora Municipal Center on June 16 to commemorate and celebrate the young teen’s life. The group will then conduct a March around the city with his casket to send a strong message about his unjust killing.
“Our family is in mourning, we are in pain, but our entire community is also in pain,” Jameco Richardson, the late teen’s father, said in a news release. “We are gathering together to honor and celebrate his life and grieve a death that came far too early.”
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