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On its face, the shooting in Denver on Saturday that left one man dead looks fairly open-and-shut, when one sees the evidence.
While we might not know all the details about how the altercation began, the end result was one man pulling out mace and spraying, and the other pulling out a handgun and firing. These images were all captured by photographers, and show the actual shooting when strung together.
Here's more photos in sequence slowed down a bit. pic.twitter.com/ERITJTzShn
— L (@SomeSneakyB) October 12, 2020
The shooter has now been identified as Matthew Dolloff, and at the time, 9NEWS KUSA (a NBC affiliate) said that Dolloff had been hired as a “private security guard” by them to protect their reporters on the ground during protests.
That story began to rapidly fall apart, and now 9NEWS is looking at being sued into outer space by the family of the deceased man.
First, there are very specific licensing regulations that private security must go through in the city of Denver. It turns out that Dolloff had none of those permits.
The Denver Department of Excise and Licenses tells CBS4’s Andrea Flores (that) Dolloff was not licensed to be a security guard in the city.”
“If he was operating as a security guard, he was in violation of the law,” said Eric Escudero, a department spokesman, stated. “Security guards are prohibited from carrying or using a firearm without getting an armed firearm endorsement for their license. All security guards in Denver are required to get a federal background check before they receive their license.”
Escudero also shared Denver is one of three cities in Colorado where security guards are required to have a license to operate, and there is no requirement to have a license in the state.”
Security guards are also required to go through training which includes training on use of force.”
Second, 9NEWS claimed that Dolloff had been hired from the Pinkerton company as private security. Well, Pinkerton now says that he is NOT their employee.
Matthew Dolloff, 30, was contracted through the company Pinkerton by 9NEWS. It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to contract private security to accompany staff at protests.”
Pinkerton, however, said it does not actually employ Dolloff – Pinkerton did not share the name of the company for which Dolloff worked.”
Which leads to point number three: Dolloff is very much a leftist, and may have ties to Antifa. Social media indicates that he was formerly a part of Occupy Denver in 2011, and there is an open question about a Space Invaders tattoo that Dolloff has on his wrist, which might be associated with one particular Antifa group. However, Denver Police initially denied that the shooter had an Antifa connection. Was that because they were told that he was 9NEWS private security, so they didn’t bother following the Antifa claims any further?
Dolloff is now being held for first degree murder, and is being held without bail.
So, here’s the problem for 9NEWS, and why the station is probably making their legal department stay up all night. Pinkerton isn’t claiming Dolloff. 9NEWS said he was “private security.” He had NONE of the permits or training to be private security in Denver. And now a man is dead. The criminal charges will fall on Dolloff, as they should, but this is a civil lawsuit nightmare for the news station, and lawyers are likely lining up to represent the dead man’s family.
If 9News has nothing to hide they can just reveal who employed Doloff. This isn't hard. Surely they have an HR department that would have a file on the guy they hired to carry a gun at events.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 12, 2020
Just imagine a Very Motivated Lawyer going through discovery for the victim’s family, asking how an unlicensed security guard got hired by a news agency when the company that he supposedly worked for says he wasn’t their employee. An unlicensed, trigger happy “security guard” working for 9NEWS, who is an Occupy alumni, someone who is left-wing, and just shot and killed someone who tried to mace him. If a police officer had done that, Denver would be burned to the ground right now.
So, who hired this guy? Someone did, because 9NEWS would not have claimed him as their “private security” otherwise. And if Pinkerton isn’t claiming him, then who DID he work for? Are we absolutely, totally, and completely sure that he wasn’t “Antifa security” guiding press around and making sure that media outlets only cover what Antifa wants to be covered? That doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility, and 9NEWS had better come up with some good answers, fast. Or they can just keep adding zeros to the check that they WILL end up writing at some point in the near future.
Featured image via Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license
John says: Good work getting the sequence of events vids up. This is vitally important.
Another site had up a quote, allegedly from an Antifa, about this photographer, saying that “she would be okay, we protect our own.”
Might be worth looking into her published pictures for evidence of bias.
John in Indy
Old Billy says: For a few years now I have complained that few of the hats we get at the local chain store are made in America much less by one of our neighbors. So Antifa has crushed the middle class and tradesmen. Yeah congratulations. Now we get nothing but big box stores and media explaining to us what’s peaceful and caring. It is beyond the hot legal mess and well off into the symbolic realm now. No bail? They know.
Kathy says: I would like to see the video before and including the slap. That was what led to the mace and shooting.
Otherwise excellent article.
Charles Sivley says: The photo sequence appears to be missing a few critical photos. After the “slap” it appears the victim is backing away [with the mace down at his side] and the shooter reaching for his gun in his waistband and then SUDDENLY we have the very next photo with the gun being fired and the mace in the air. Question remains, was the mace used in an attempt to deter the shooter from pulling the trigger or was the shooter maced first and then reacted. Be significant to know. Why those missing photos?
GWB says: No, I think it’s pretty clear. The shooter reached for his gun the moment he was slapped. He pulled a lethal weapon based on an open-handed slap and the assailant backing away.
The mace is pretty clearly deployed after the gun was brandished – IOW, the shooter is escalating the violence.
It doesn’t really matter if the mace was deployed before shots were fired or not, as it doesn’t meet the criteria of “imminent severe bodily harm or death” that self-defense requires. The slap sure as heck doesn’t meet it (particularly since the slapper was backing away). No threat of “dire bodily harm or death” was imminent. Not from the slap. Not from the mace. He shot the guy because he got bitch open-hand slapped.
Maybe a jury of all pajama boys could acquit him, but not one of real citizens.
Now, I will agree that some photos are missing. I want to know what happened in the moments before the slap. Was the shooter reaching for the other man’s weapon? Were there words exchanged that would justify an open-handed slap? (Grabbing for my gun certainly would.)
SeanMoller says: Breakdown has shown the victim was carrying in his vest and the shooter was trying to grab that gun seconds before the shooting. Shooter pulled and aimed his gun at the victim prior to him engaging the bear spray. Everything about this stinks. That “security guard” was looking for a fight and 9 news deserves to be destroyed by this.
Truth Before Facts says: Thanks Sean but, what is this “Breakdown” to which you refer. Do you have a link? I would love to see it
GWB says: Was just going to ask the same thing. Because the sequence above doesn’t give a clear enough view to see any carry weapon on the victim, and it doesn’t show enough to state the shooter was grabbing for the victim’s weapon.
If you’ve got a link, please share!
GWB says: the end result was one man pulling out mace and spraying, and the other pulling out a handgun and firing
No, that lacks the context. The end result was one man drawing his firearm on a man who had merely slapped him and was backing away. I’m betting Branca would declare this almost instantly a “bad shoot”. Absolutely nothing in those photos justifies a lethal self-defense. IF the bear spray had nailed the shooter and he had reason to believe the other guy would charge him (a la Michael Brown), he might pull off self defense. But not based on those photos.
Security guards are prohibited from carrying or using a firearm without getting an armed firearm endorsement for their license.
Which seems pretty dumb, considering I can carry all I like around my house (even in Denver, I’m pretty certain) and my property without a license. But I need a special endorsement on my license to do it for pay. You would think the potential of lawsuits would be adequate deterrent to hiring some wino off the street and giving him a gun.
(BTW, on top of the victim’s family suing the station, I think the entire group of protesters should sue, as should possibly the entire group of free citizens of Denver, in class action lawsuits for endangerment. Who knows who this guy could have shot.)
Dolloff is now being held for first degree murder
Note, this requires some measure of premeditation. That means he had to have decided to kill someone not in the heat of the moment at the very least. The cops must think they can maybe justify that charge down the road.
Pinkerton did not share the name of the company for which Dolloff worked.
Now, this might just be bad journalisming, but that makes it sound like, maybe… sub-contracting? Maybe Pinkerton isn’t disclosing because they want to cover their behinds before discovery can point the finger? “Go back NOW and cross all the ‘t’s and dot all the friggin’ ‘i’s! Make sure the paperwork is good!”
I doubt this guy was an AntiFa press handler. I’m going to bet he saw an ad and walked in Zoomed them. When they mentioned something about Pinkerton, he said “Oh yeah, I’m a sub-contractor for them. But, you write the checks directly to my company, Bubba Jones, Inc.”
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