AVON – A Colorado state trooper will not face criminal charges following an investigation into the fatal shooting of a Nevada man following a traffic stop.
Vail Daily reports an official inquiry led by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation found the shooting of 58-year-old Alvern Walker of Las Vegas was justified.
Walker was a passenger in a U-Haul truck that was pulled over while traveling Interstate 70 on Dec. 5.
The truck pulled into a Walgreens store parking lot, then Walker stuck a handgun under his chin and began waving the weapon about his head and walking near the store entrance, according to the report.
After other officers arrived and Walker had ignored more than 50 commands to put down the gun, an Avon police officer fired two non-lethal beanbag rounds and another fired a Taser.
Investigators determined that Trooper Joel Juenke heard the rounds being fired and shot Walker because the trooper was unsure who had fired and Walker posed an imminent threat to law enforcement and civilians.
The driver of the U-Haul later told investigators that he and Walker had been using methamphetamine as they traveled and that Walker had been having hallucinations and talking about killing people.
Walker was on parole for a 1983 murder in Nevada and had been struggling with returning to society, according to the report.
