Prosecutors are dropping charges against the former security guard accused of killing a protestor in Denver in October 2020. Matthew Dolloff is accused in the shooting death of Lee Keltner during a demonstration, while Dolloff was working as an armed guard for 9News.
According to the article Carolyn Tyler, Communications Director for the Denver District Attorney’s Office, said the office could not prove Dolloff's guild beyond a reasonable doubt.
“I can confirm that having fully considered the facts and circumstances surrounding the charges, today we informed Lee Keltner’s family members that we will soon dismiss the criminal case against Matthew Dolloff. In line with our ethical obligations, we cannot overcome the legal justifications of self-defense or defense of others. We are not able to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
It will be interesting to see the legal analysis of this case that is sure to come up following this. It is interesting that the case received a ton of publicity at first, then nothing for a year and a half. It is also interesting that the prosecutor's office used the phrase "prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt".
This could relate to the difficulties in winning cases for murder and attempted murder (or second degree murder in the Dolloff case here).
Perhaps the Denver District Attorney's Office overcharged Dolloff from the start. In any case, it seems to be somewhat surprising because of the physical evidence we covered in the earlier post on the shooting here.
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