Officers investigated in Jor’Dell Richardson’s shooting death back on duty
AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Three Aurora police officers investigated by the department after the deadly shooting of 14-year-old Jor’Dell Richardson have returned to full duty.
According to a release from the Aurora Police Department, Sgt. Stephenson Cary, Officer Roch Gruszeczka and Officer James Snapp were all part of the response to an alleged robbery by a group of juveniles at a convenience store on June 1.
One of those allegedly involved in the robbery was Jor’Dell, who was chased by police as he ran away and later shot by Gruszeczka while on the ground.
Jor’Dell was carrying what responding officers said they believed was a handgun but was later found to be a pellet gun.
Richardson family releases statement
An attorney for Jor’Dell’s family released a statement on Tuesday.
The Aurora Police Department exonerated its officers in the murders of Naeschylus Carter-Vinzant, Gary Black and Elijah McClain. Three cases our firm handled. Between these three cases alone, Aurora has paid nearly $20 million to settle these murders.
The Aurora Police Department exonerated the officers involved in the murder of Elijah McClain. Today, prosecutors for the state of Colorado are making closing arguments in the murder trial of Aurora police officers who killed Elijah McClain.
Today’s announcement is not a surprise. Aurora has a history of exonerating officers who engage in misconduct and murder. It does not change the Richardsons’ resolve.
SIDDHARTHA RATHOD, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF JOR’DELL RICHARDSON
Officers in Jor’Dell Richardson case largely cleared
Gruszeczka was investigated for and cleared of department policy violations around the use of deadly force, conformance to law, and required identification and warning prior to the use of deadly force.
The other officer who was involved in the chase of Jor’Dell was Snapp, who was investigated for policy violations of use of physical force, conformance to law and conduct unbecoming. The investigation cleared him of the first two violations but found he did use profane language during the incident, for which he received a written reprimand.
Cary, who initially called for assistance after seeing the masked people near the convenience store, was investigated for policy violations of routine police vehicle operations, emergency response and police vehicle pursuits and body-worn camera activation. He was cleared of the first two policy investigations but was found to have not activated his camera properly. According to a release from APD, Cary was given verbal counseling that was documented in writing by the department.
In a separate investigation, the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team found that Snapp and Gruszeczka were legally justified in their use of force.
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