The county coroner first claimed that a man killed by police in Colorado died from two bullet wounds “of the chest.”
But that was before a video showed Allan George was shot in the back as he jogged away.
However, Garfield County Coroner Robert Glassmire insists he did not mislead the public with his press release that stated the following:
The cause of death is gunshot wounds of the chest. There were two gunshot wounds. The coroner’s office is investigating the manner of death as a homicide.
When questioned by local media about the discrepancy between his press release and the video that surfaced, Glassmire stated the following.
“The ‘of chest’ refers to the chest cavity and vital organs contained within,” Garfield County Coroner Robert Glassmire said. “It does not indicate the point of entry of any wounds from gunshots.”
However, it is generally expected that an autopsy of a gunshot victim would make note of the gunshot wounds. That’s almost the whole point of the autopsy.
The incident took place August 5 after Rifle police pulled Allan over for an active warrant for child pornography, according to Westword. The video begins with Allan holding a gun to his chest standing on a highway overpass as a male cop points his gun at him from behind his car door.
For more than a minute, the man continues to hold his gun before placing it into his pocket at the 1:12 minute mark. He then acts as if he is going to jump off the overpass.
At the 3:40 minute mark, Allan begins to jog away and the cop begins to follow for a few steps with his gun drawn. The camera than pans to Allan as he is jogging and two shots ring out as he collapses. A second cop was also at the scene but off-camera.
This is how the Rifle Police Department first described the shooting on its Facebook page.
The Rifle Police Department made a vehicle stop on the Colorado River bridge between the I-70 exit and Whiteriver Avenue this evening. Two officers made contact with the subject which unfortunately led to shots being fired. A weapon not belonging to the officers was found at the scene. The subject was transported by ambulance to the hospital by Colorado River Fire Rescue. No officers were injured.
Although an attorney hired by Allan’s family is calling it “first degree murder,” a former prosecutor interviewed by local media believes he will be acquitted because he had been acting erratic and had been carrying a gun, even if he was not holding it at the time of the shooting.
But family attorney David Lane said he will ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate if the cop is cleared. Lane is also representing the family of De’von Bailey, a 19-year-old man who was shot in the back by Colorado Springs police on August 3, two days before the Allan shooting death.
The two Rifle police officers involved in the Allan shooting have been identified as D. Ryan and S. McNeal. Both were initially placed on administrative leave but McNeal was taken off administrative leave, indicating the shooter is probably Ryan. Perhaps Dewey Ryan, one local site suggested, but the chief refused to confirm the cop’s first name.
An updated autopsy conducted by the Garfield County Coroner’s Office on August 22, a week after local media questioned the coroner’s findings that Allan had been killed by “gunshot wounds of the chest, determined that Allan died from two gunshot wounds to the back.
