- Rajon Belt-Stubblefield, a father, was fatally shot by a Colorado police officer inside 50 seconds of the encounter.
- The household claims the officer instantly escalated the state of affairs and used extreme pressure towards the unarmed man.
- Aurora, Colorado has a historical past of paying out giant settlements to Black households over police killings.
Rajon Belt-Stubblefield was fatally shot by an Aurora, Colorado police officer named Matthew Neely in August 2025. He was stopped by Neely for a possible DUI, however fled in his car earlier than crashing into a number of parked automobiles at a busy intersection, in accordance with Denver7. Despite being ordered to the bottom at gun level, Belt-Stubblefield allegedly walked away from the officer earlier than being approached for arrest. During that bodily altercation, it was reported that the 37-year-old tossed a firearm into the grass earlier than allegedly telling his 18-year-old son, Zion Murphy, to “get that s–t” to which the officer responded, “Get away from that f—ing gun.” The unarmed Belt-Stubblefield is alleged to have begun approaching the officer, earlier than being instructed, “Get on the bottom. I’ll shoot you.” Stubbfield was then shot a number of instances, twice within the physique and as soon as within the head.
This all occurred inside 50 seconds, from first contact to demise.
The Denver Post experiences that on Monday, Belt-Stubblefield’s household notified the town of Aurora that they are going to be submitting a lawsuit.
“No little one ought to ever must witness that,” stated Erica Murphy, Zion Murphy’s mom. “No little one ought to have to hold the trauma for the remainder of their life. Rajon was greater than a headline. He was greater than a police report. He was a father. He was beloved. He mattered.”
In the lawsuit discover, household lawyer Milo Schwab tells a really totally different story from the one which officer Neely put forth. Schwab says that Neely instantly pointed his gun at Belt-Stubblefield after the automotive collision. Schwab additionally claims that Neely tried to take down Belt-Stubblefield by the neck however fell to the bottom within the course of.
Neely then adopted Belt-Stubblefield, shoved him within the again after which as Belt-Stubblefield turned to talk to his son Neely “suckerpunched Mr. Belt-Stubblefield at the back of the pinnacle, inflicting Mr. Belt-Stubblefield to place his fists as much as defend his head,” the discover of declare acknowledged.
Moreover, the town has had no contact with the household for the reason that taking pictures and officer Neely has not confronted any disciplinary motion, alleges the lawyer.
If Aurora, Colorado rings a bell, it’s as a result of they’ve paid out a number of Black households for wrongful demise lawsuits, together with $15 million to the household of Elijah McClain who police killed in 2019. The metropolis additionally paid out $2.6 million to the household of Naeschylus Carter-Vinzant, one other unarmed Black man who was gunned down by police.
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