Man killed by Denver police was unarmed parolee

DENVER — Police in the Denver suburb of Aurora said on Monday that an individual who was fatally shot by an officer during an incident on Friday was an unarmed 37-year-old black man, the Denver Post newspaper reported.

Police have said the shooting occurred as officers sought a male suspect who was wanted for kidnapping and robbery and was known to be armed and dangerous. Police said they fatally shot the man while trying to take him into custody.

Aurora Police Commander Paul O’Keefe said the individual was a parolee who had removed a Department of Corrections ankle monitor on March 2, the Denver Post reported.

The officer who fired the shot has been placed on administrative leave, it quoted the commander as saying.

The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office named the deceased as Naeschylus Vinzant, said in a statement on Monday that he died from a gunshot wound to the chest during a confrontation with police officers,” and classified the death as a homicide.

Aurora Police Chief Nicholas Metz said on Sunday that the department was working with the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office, and that investigators had to be careful not to release information that could jeopardize the probe.