DENVER (AP) – Police have met a user interested in a shootout that occurred after a Jeep headed towards protesters on a road in the suburbs of Denver in a protest over the death of a black man arrested by police last year. Meanwhile, a guy was arrested on suspicion of driving toward protesters in favor of police in northern Colorado.
Both conditions took place Saturday amid intense national tensions in protests against racial injustice since federal officials were sent to quell the protests in Portland, Oregon.
In Eaton, Colorado, a city of approximately 4,400 others, police said a van passed through a park where the demonstration took position and attempted to overtake or overtake participants. The man, who has not been known to the police, was arrested after moving. About a hundred others gathered for the rally, waving flags and applauding law enforcement, the Greeley Tribune reported.
In Aurora, police said Monday that they learned of the identity of a wanted man as interested in the shooting after posting photos of him the day before. Authorities did not release his name without delay.
Police are also asking the public for photos, videos and testimonies of the shooting and the Jeep driving towards protesters on Interstate 225 on Saturday in a protest against Elijah McClain’s death.
Police have said in the past that it was unclear what kind of people opened fire. One guy was shot in the leg and another was stabbed in the head by the shooting.
No injuries similar to those in the Jeep were reported, police said.
The Jeep’s driving force did not yet stop its vehicle seized as evidence. He said protesters surrounded his vehicle, shouted and punched and walked towards protesters because he was scared and looking to escape, police said. He also claimed that he had been hit by a white van.
Witnesses told Colorado Sentinel that the driving force of a white Ford F-150 pickup truck was probably due to protesters maneuvering his van in front of the Jeep and hitting him as he headed toward the crowd.
“It’s a hasty resolution because Array” If I don’t stop this guy, he’s going to kill people,” Sebastian Sassi told the paper. He refused to say whether he was part of the demonstration or supported his cause.
It is known how the Jeep hit the road when police blocked the front after protesters spilled onto the road.
“It is not known at this time whether the Jeep got ahead of this blockade, but protesters were jammed or if they were able to pass to protesters who had cars from their own teams blocking the front ramp 225 in Alameda,” Officer Matt Longshore told Colorado Sentinel in an email.
Protesters also broke the courthouse windows and a fireplace exploded in an office, police said. An illegal demonstration was declared and police ordered protesters to leave the area, the government said.
In Colorado, protesters drew attention to the death of McClain, who was arrested by police while walking down an Aurora street in August 2019 after a person who called 911 reported him as a suspect. The police strangled him and the paramedics gave him a sedative to calm him down. He suffered a cardiac arrest, was pronounced brain dead and got rid of the life support system.