Denver police investigating video of officers shooting pepper balls at man, pregnant fiancee

DENVER — Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen initiated an investigation into the officers seen in a video shooting pepper balls at a man and his pregnant fiancee.

The man and woman in the video had not come forward nor filed a complaint, so Pazen did, the department said.

The couple was later identified as Shaiitarrio Brown and Brittany King, KMGH reported.

“Honestly I thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to be the next black man shot by police,” Brown told KUSA. “I still feel that way.”

Brown and King were trying to deliver a pizza through DoorDash when they were caught in the melee, KMGH reported. They were hit multiple times with pepper balls shot by police, forcing them to pull over and get out of their car. King confronted police and was pelted with pepper balls before being sprayed, KUSA reported.

“We’re not protesters, we are not part of the riots," Brown told KUSA. "We were delivering food. We were working. For them to just go out of their way to shoot innocent people was unfair. And then I proceeded to tell them that there’s a pregnant woman in the car, and that’s when they unloaded 50 to 75-plus rounds into my car with my pregnant girlfriend in it."

King, who is 18 weeks pregnant, suffered a hand fracture when she tried to protect her face from a pepper ball, KUSA reported.

Brown and King retained an attorney.

“There’s so many agencies and officers that do their job in an excellent manner, but this on the other hand, is bias policing," their attorney Scott Melin told KUSA. "It’s militarized policing. It’s abusive policing and a violation of my client’s constitutional rights.”

Cox Media Group