1 dead in Loveland officer-involved shooting

An officer-involved shooting in Loveland left one man dead Thursday night, according to the Loveland Police Department.

Officers and a suspect exchanged fire about 10:11 p.m. in the 700 block of Namaqua Road, and the suspect was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.

Loveland officers were investigating an attempted traffic stop, followed by a vehicle crash, after which the reported shooting occurred.  

The incident occurred across the street from Namaqua Park (730 Namaqua Road), in the area of city-owned property that the Open Lands and Trails division purchased, which is not open to the public.

According to a news release from Loveland police, after officers found the suspect vehicle, a man from the vehicle fired a weapon, and officers responded by shooting the man.

The Critical District Incident Response Team, the multi-agency Eighth Judicial District team that investigates police-involved shootings, responded and is investigating the incident. Fort Collins Police Services is taking the lead on the investigation.

Loveland Police Sgt. Jeff Pyle said four officers discharged their weapons in the incident and all four have been placed on paid administrative leave, standard protocol for an incident such as this one.

The name of the man who was killed has not yet been released. The Larimer County Coroner's Office will release it after family has been notified.

The officers' names have also not been released.

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Police said there no other injuries were sustained.

Further information was not made available Friday.

"The investigation is still in its early phases as the team continues to process evidence and conduct interviews," said Kate Kimble, Fort Collins Police Services public relations manager, in an email.

Anyone with information is asked to called the Critical Incident Response Team's leader Fort Collins Police Services Sgt. Kristy Volesky at 970-224-6020.

Thursday night's shooting is the third officer-involved shooting in Larimer County since April of last year, with the next most-recent in January 2017. District Attorney Cliff Riedel ruled that Fort Collins Police Services Officer Matt Brede had acted within his legal authority for use of force in the Jan. 21 shooting of Fort Collins resident Austin F. Snodgrass, a reported attempt of "suicide by cop."

The last time a Loveland police officer was involved in a shooting was Aug. 31, 2015.

In that case, Officer Jennifer Hines was deemed justified in firing a single shot that fatally injured 45-year-old William Rippley, a man who proclaimed to have "met God" before taking a man hostage at an east Loveland pizza restaurant. 

This is a developing story. Check coloradoan.com for updates.

Reporter Jason Pohl contributed reporting. 

You can follow reporter Saja Hindi at twitter.com/BySajaHindi or email her at shindi@coloradoan.com.