DENVER • Moments after Denver District Attorney Beth McCann announced Tuesday that she would open a grand jury investigation into a shooting last month in Lower Downtown, the Denver Police Department released video footage depicting a frightening situation in the early morning hours of July 17, when three police officers shot a man with dozens of people just a few feet behind him.

The bystanders, some of whom appear to be lining up to order from a food truck, scamper away as the shots are fired, the video shows.

Six of them were injured in the incident, which took under a minute.

Two bystanders who were injured in LoDo shooting speak out

The officers were responding to an altercation in LoDo as the bars were closing in. Officers shot 21-year-old Jordan Waddy after they said he pointed a gun at them.

The footage shows Waddy walking around a car and into the street toward police with his hands up. He then pedaled backward toward the sidewalk, reached into his sweatshirt with his left hand, drew his handgun by the barrel, and threw it down in the seconds before police opened fire. The bullets knocked him to the ground in front of the Larimer Beer Hall at 21st and Larimer. 

He was shot six times, once in the back and buttocks, once in his right leg, once in his right hip and twice in the ribs.

“That fact that he wasn’t killed, he wasn’t paralyzed, is a miracle,” said his civil attorney, Tyrone Glover.

In a statement, McCann said the public’s interest in the shooting is high. 

Calls for police accountability increase as citizens wait for Denver Police Department investigation

“For the community to trust in the outcome from this incident, it is important that independent members of the community review the facts, evidence and law regarding whether these officers should be criminally charged. Until the grand jury’s work is complete, my office will have no further comment on this matter,” she said.

The time stamp on video surveillance from the bar shows that the shooting happened around 1:50 a.m. outside of the bar. In the video, Waddy pushes another person, then he rounds a food truck and encounters five officers.

Three officers who fired their guns during the incident have been placed on modified duty. Denver police identified the three as Officers Meagan Lieberson, Brandon Ramos and Kenneth Rowland. 

They said Waddy pointed a gun at them but didn’t shoot. The video shows that Waddy threw his gun to the ground. After Waddy is shot, police can be heard saying, “Drop it!” 

In a press conference following the shooting incident, Denver police said that three officers fired seven shots into the crowded sidewalk, hitting six innocent people.

“This officer was aware there were individuals behind the subject and worked to obtain a clear sight picture of the subject before firing the single round,” Denver Police Commander Matt Clark said during a press conference on the shooting. “There’s no evidence that the subject discharged the firearm during the incident.”

Bailey Alexander was one of the bystanders who was shot that night. She took a bullet to her shoulder, which exited out of her arm. She said it was surreal to watch the incident unfold on the actual video.

“It happened so fast and it was such a blur in my head,” Alexander said. 

Waddy, who is in jail, is scheduled to appear in Denver District Court next week on one charge of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He originally was held on suspicion of menacing, a more serious charge. He also faces three counts of possession of a weapon by a previous offender, a felony.

In a statement, lawyers for three of the six victims accused the officers involved of intentional reckless behavior and that “It is a miracle that more bystanders were not injured and that nobody was killed.” intentionally firing live rounds toward a dense crowd.”

FBI in Colorado identifies nearly 2 dozen sex trafficking victims in Operation Cross Country

From the Denver Police Protective Association, an alternate statement expressing support for Denver police officers who “are often forced to make split-second decisions in their efforts to protect themselves and the community.”

A law passed in Colorado last year seeks to bolster the public’s ability to access body-worn and dash camera footage. House Bill 21-1250 requires release of video and audio recordings of incidents within 21 days of a request in which there is a complaint of misconduct leveled at a peace officer made by a civilian, nonprofit or another peace officer. The release can be delayed until 45 days if it “would substantially interfere with or jeopardize an active or ongoing investigation.”

Denver Gazette reporters Dennis Huspeni and Julia Cardi contributed in this article.