A Denver police officer unintentionally fired his AR-15 rifle during a tense standoff in 2021, according to department disciplinary records.
Officer Andrew Nielsen will serve a 10-day disciplinary suspension over the unintentional shot, according to a Jan. 22 disciplinary letter released to The Denver Post on Friday.
The officer grabbed his AR-15 rifle and aimed it at the front door of an apartment during a call for a family disturbance on Dec. 23, 2021, according to the letter. A person inside the apartment was believed to be armed and had threatened to “shoot it out” with police, according to the letter.
As another officer was on the phone with the suspect negotiating the man’s surrender, Nielsen unintentionally fired a shot that hit the man’s front door, according to the letter.
“Hey, hey. Did you hear that? … My partner accidentally squeezed the trigger into the ground,” the negotiating officer told the suspect. “…I don’t want this to put you on edge, OK? There’s a few of us out here. He’s going back to his car. He’s not out here anymore.”
Nielsen told other officers that his safety had broken. Later, further investigation revealed that Nielsen had modified his rifle with a pistol grip, and had broken the weapon’s safety when he installed the grip.
Nielsen had last qualified with the rifle on Dec. 9, 2021 — that is, he went to a police shooting range for testing and allowed the gun to be examined by shooting range staff to ensure the gun was working properly. But at some point after that testing, he installed the pistol grip. He then did not go back to the range or use the gun until the Dec. 23, 2021, standoff, according to the letter.
Internal affairs investigators found Nielsen violated police department policies around carelessly handling firearms because he negligently installed the pistol grip and compromised both the rifle’s trigger and safety.
Nielsen, who has been a Denver police officer since 2014, will serve his suspension in April and May. He could not be reached for comment Monday.
“An officer is responsible for all rounds fired from the officer’s weapon, regardless of whether the officer intended to fire the round,” the disciplinary letter reads, noting that the internal affairs investigation into the 2021 incident took longer than usual because it went through an additional review by the department’s Use of Force Board, a group of police officers and community members that reviews in-custody deaths, assaults and any incidents in which Denver police officers fire their guns.
Almost half — 44% — of internal investigations into complaints have been resolved within 90 days since 2022, Denver police Chief Ron Thomas reported in a Friday meeting with the Denver Citizen Oversight Board. About 28% of investigations wrapped up between 90 and 180 days, and 22% of internal investigations were closed within a year. Only 6% of internal investigations took longer than one year, Thomas said, adding that is often seen in cases in which the officer also faces criminal investigation.
“If there is a law violation, we don’t do anything with that investigation until the court process has concluded,” he said.
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