Denver police officers shot and injured a man on July 5, 2026, after responding to a harassment call. Body camera footage of the incident was released on July 14, 2026.

Two Denver officers responded to reports of an armed man harassing and threatening people near East 51st Avenue and Washington Street at approximately 11:40 a.m. on July 5, 2026. Officers spotted the man with the knife in his hand minutes after arriving at the scene. Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas described the weapon as a long, kitchen-style cutting knife approximately 12 inches long.

The two officers issued commands to the man to drop the knife, but he fled. The officers pursued the man, issuing repeated commands to stop and drop the weapon. The man stopped once during the pursuit but fled again.

The shooting occurred at approximately noon on July 5, 2026. Near the intersection of East 50th Avenue and Washington Street, the man turned toward the officers and one officer fired, striking the man several times. Paramedics transported the man to a hospital following the shooting, and no officers were injured during the incident.

Police have not publicly identified the officer involved in the shooting or the man who was shot. Police had previously received reports of a person believed to be the same man harassing people in the area, sometimes armed, but had not spotted or contacted him prior to July 5, 2026.

Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said the situation involved a known subject. "This is actually a recurring incident in this area involving the same individual," Thomas said.

The release of body camera footage provides a visual record of the confrontation that led to the shooting. The footage documents the pursuit and the moment the officer discharged his weapon after the man turned toward him with a knife.

Authorities indicated that the individual had been the subject of prior complaints in the neighborhood. Despite previous reports of harassment and armed behavior, police had not made contact with the man before this incident.