Denver police released drone and body-worn camera video on April 16 showing the fatal shooting of Joseph Martinez, 58, during a confrontation that began outside a home in southwest Denver on April 7. Officers responded at about 5 p.m. to the area of South Quitman Street and West Tennessee Avenue after a relative called 911 to report that Martinez was walking around outside with a gun.
Police said officers believed the weapon looked like a hunting rifle, and Cmdr. Matt Clark said they were told the gun might not have been a functioning or real weapon, but no other information was available at the scene. The new video and details show Martinez pointed the weapon directly at SWAT officers, and an officer fired after investigators said he did not comply with orders to drop it. Martinez was taken to the hospital and later died.
The shooting happened fast, but the decision to release the video nine days later put the department’s version of events on the record in a more complete way. Denver police also said the officer who fired the shots was removed from patrol under department policy, a standard step that follows an officer-involved shooting.
What the release leaves settled is the central question in the case: police say officers faced a man with a rifle-like weapon aimed at them, even though they had been told the gun might not have been real or operational. That gap — between what officers were warned and what they encountered — is now the core of the incident.