AURORA, Colo. — Newly released body camera footage shows the moment an Aurora police officer fatally shot 37-year-old Rajon Belt-Stubblefield during a confrontation following an attempted traffic stop on August 30.
According to police, the officer tried to pull Belt-Stubblefield over near 6th Avenue and Billings Street. The video shows the officer pointing a gun at Belt-Stubblefield as he sits in a damaged vehicle with his young son nearby. Belt-Stubblefield eventually opens the door and steps out with one hand behind his back. Officers say he had a gun and was telling his son to pick it up.
The footage then shows the officer and Belt-Stubblefield wrestling on the ground. After the struggle, Belt-Stubblefield appears unarmed and begins moving toward the officer. The officer pushes him back before firing twice into his chest and once into his head, killing him.
Belt-Stubblefield’s family — now represented by attorney Ben Crump — says the officer escalated the situation and used deadly force unnecessarily. They’re demanding transparency, the officer’s name, and the full internal affairs file. “There is no justification for any shot, especially that third shot,” Crump said at a news conference Friday.
Aurora police maintain the officer feared for his life because Belt-Stubblefield exited the vehicle armed and instructed his son to retrieve a weapon. The officer’s name has not been released.
Belt-Stubblefield’s son witnessed the shooting. “I was supposed to move in with him the day after everything happened,” his son Zion said.
The family says they’re awaiting the results of state and local investigations but have not ruled out civil action.