By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Boulder County, Colorado District Attorney Michael T. Dougherty has determined that Boulder Police Officer Richard Steidell was justified in using deadly force to stop mass shooting suspect Ahmed Al Aliwi Alissa in the March 22 attack at a King Soopers market that left 10 people dead.
The detailed report was released Thursday and a copy was obtained by TGM. In the nine-page document, the shooting response by local police, including the slaying of Officer Eric Talley as he responded to the active shooter incident.
Alissa was wounded in the leg by a bullet Steidell’s semiautomatic pistol, described as a Heckler & Koch VP9, chambered in 9mm. He fired eight rounds in two separate bursts at the suspect, wounding him in the right thigh.
As explained by Fox News and Dougherty’s report, Steidell was part of a “second wave” of officers responding to the shooting. They entered the store after a trio of officers including Talley, had moved in. That was when Talley was killed.
The afternoon attack occurred at about 2:30 p.m. and calls to the 911 dispatcher came in right at 2:30, the report said. Within one minute, police were dispatched to the scene.
In a press release from Dougherty’s office, the prosecutor revealed Steidell and other officers had been shot at within 20 seconds after entering the store, and that he returned fire, hitting the suspect in the right thigh.
In the report, Dougherty stated, “No civilian was shot or killed after Boulder Police Officers entered the store. No person other than Officer Steidell fired a weapon at the shooter.”
According to Fox News, Alissa’s defense team “has suggested he suffers from mental illness. But they have not offered any other details about his condition.” Authorities have yet to announce whether they have established a motive.
Steidell initially fired twice after being fired at, then dove to the floor and when the suspect reappeared at the far end of an aisle, Steidell fired several more times from a prone position because, as the report states, he “had no other means of safely subduing or stopping the shooter.”
The report notes that neither Steidell or other officers “gave a clear verbal warning of their intent to discharge firearms, officers could not have done so without unnecessarily placing themselves at risk of serious bodily injury or death.”
FBI investigators processed the crime scene and recovered eight spent 9mm cartridge casings near where Steidell had been when he fired. After he performed a tactical reload following the shooting, his original magazine was found to have seven rounds remaining, and he had a live round in the chamber. The HK VP9 carries a 15-round magazine.
The Boulder shooting set off a wave of anti-gun rhetoric, as it happened just a week after a Georgia man was apprehended as the suspect in a trip of shootings at massage spas in the Atlanta area left several people dead.
