ARVADA, Colo. — Officials with the First Judicial District Attorney's Office released new footage this week showing the actions of John Hurley, a Good Samaritan who was shot and killed by Arvada police after Hurley fatally shot a suspect who had just gunned down an officer in Olde Town Arvada in June.
The DA’s office also released body camera footage of police officers who responded to the events that played out in a matter of minutes on the afternoon of June 21.
The surveillance footage shows Hurley’s movements just before the shooting, the actions he took when he heard the shots, and the moment he shot and killed suspected gunman Ronald Troyke, who was suspected of shooting and killing Arvada Police Officer Gordon Beesley.
The video shows Hurley, 40, enter a store where he appears to immediately react to nearby gunfire. He is then seen running out of the front of the store as he points something out to another man who is fleeing from the same exit as Hurley.
As Hurley runs in the direction he points toward, footage shows him pull out what appears to be a handgun from his right side. The edited clip switches to another view, showing Hurley with his gun drawn and crouching across a courtyard.
A third clip shows Hurley make his way to a wall near an alleyway, where he takes cover. He is then seen pointing his gun and firing at least two rounds at Troyke, who had allegedly just shot and killed Beesley. The last surveillance clip shows Hurley from a different camera stepping out from behind the wall and shooting the suspect.
The footage released this week comes after First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King announced no charges will be filed against the Arvada officer who fatally shot Hurley.
The officer, identified in the decision letter as Kraig Brownlow, was found to have reasonably believed that Hurley was the gunman thought to have already shot and killed Beesley.
The district attorney’s office Critical Incident Response Team handed over its investigation into the Ole Town Arvada shooting in early September. King said the CIRT and her office reviewed more than 3,200 photos and 1,180 pages of reports from various cameras and law enforcement agencies who responded to the scene that day.
"By law, in deciding whether Officer Brownlow was justified in acting in self-defense or defense of others, it does not matter whether John Hurley was actually trying to injure the officer or another person, so long as a reasonable person, under like conditions and circumstances, would believe that it appeared that deadly physical force was necessary to prevent imminent harm," King wrote in her letter toArvada Police Chief Link Strate.
In a statement, the City of Arvada called the conclusion of the investigation “an important step in the process” and said it did not plan to further comment on the case.
“The events of June 21 in Olde Town were tragic. The Arvada community and City team have worked to support the subsequent investigations, and continue to support those affected by the events, including the families of Officer Gordon Beesley, Johnny Hurley, the involved officer, and all of the community,” the city said in the statement. “The City appreciates the Critical Incident Response Team and District Attorney’s Office for their efforts to thoroughly investigate this officer-involved shooting and bring the matter to conclusion.”