‘GOOD SAMARITAN’

Police Officer Walks Free After Mistakenly Killing Colorado Man Who Stopped Active Shooter

40-year-old Johnny Hurley shot and killed an active shooter when an Arvada police officer mistook him for the assailant.

An Arvada police officer will be let off scot-free after accidentally shooting and killing a man who stopped an active shooter in Olde Town Arvada this summer, reports the Denver Post. In a new conference on Monday, First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King said the officer who shot “good Samaritan” 40-year-old Johnny Hurley was legally justified in his fatal mistake and would not face criminal charges because the officer had thought he was firing at the active shooter.

In fact, Hurley had shot and killed the active shooter with a legally-carried concealed handgun after hearing gunfire. Hurley then picked up the shooter's gun, only for the officer to shoot him, assuming he was the active shooter who'd already killed Arvada police Officer Gordon Beesley. Hurley was rushed to Lutheran Medical Center, where he died soon thereafter. According to his autopsy, Hurley died of a single gunshot to the pelvis.

Hurley’s mother, Kathleen Boleyn, asked in a statement for people to “consider using Johnny’s commitment to doing the right thing even at the greatest cost to inspire your own actions.”