The Aurora police officer who shot and killed Rajon Belt-Stubblefield was charged with murder, the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced Monday morning.

A grand jury returned an indictment charging APD Officer Matthew Neely with one count of second-degree murder, a class two felony, and one count of manslaughter, a class four felony, a news release said.

Belt-Stubblefield, 37, was shot during a traffic stop on Aug. 30, 2025. He had a gun, but threw it on the ground when he got out of his car.

District Attorney Amy Padden said the grand jury determined that there was probable cause to support criminal charges after a monthslong investigation, the release said.

The incident began around 7:30 p.m. when an Aurora Police Department officer was using a radar gun to check for speeding and other traffic violations.

He pursued Belt-Stubblefield with lights and sirens “for speeding and possibly a DUI,” Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said in a news conference following the incident.

Belt-Stubblefield did not stop, rear-ended a car and crossed over a median, where he hit another car around East 6th Avenue near Sable Boulevard. No other motorists were injured.

The police department released the body camera footage from the officer who shot him on Sept. 12.

The footage shows the officer commanding Belt-Stubblefield at gunpoint to stay in the car and put his hands up.

Belt-Stubblefield is heard saying “don’t shoot me” before getting out of the car and throwing his gun in the grass nearby.

The officer continues to point his gun at Belt-Stubblefield, who approaches the officer in a fighting stance while telling his family nearby to “get that (expletive).”

Chamberlain claimed Belt-Stubblefield was trying to convince his family members to get the gun he’d thrown.

Belt-Stubblefield’s son, Zion Murphy, who was at the scene, said he believed his father was trying to get witnesses to remove the gun from the scene, according to the indictment.

Meanwhile, Murphy is seen behind him repeatedly telling his dad and the officer to “chill.”

As Belt-Stubblefield continues to approach the officer with his fists up, saying, “You ready for this?” the officer fires three shots at him.

Belt-Stubblefield died from his injuries.

Neely did not have a taser on his belt at the time and told investigators he did not believe pepper spray would work as a less-lethal option because it would incapacitate both of them, the indictment said.

Neely did not tell Belt-Stubblefield that he was under arrest and told investigators he did not tell Belt-Stubblefield he was going to shoot him before he did because he wanted to maintain an “element of surprise.”

Neely fired three total shots, hitting his chest twice and head once. He said he fired the first two shots to “stop the threat,” and when they did not have an effect, he decided to “change the target” and fired at his head.

He told investigators that he thought Belt-Stubblefield was going to assault him, that he would lose and that Belt-Stubblefield would take his gun and shoot him, the indictment said.

Belt-Stubblefield never verbally threatened to hurt Neely or made any overt acts to disarm Neely or get his own gun.

Neely “acted knowingly and recklessly with respect to his conduct … and was not justified in the actions he took pursuant to the affirmative defense of peace officer’s use of deadly physical force,” the indictment said.

The 18th Judicial District’s Critical Incident Response Team did an independent investigation into the incident, presenting evidence to the district attorney and grand jury, which returned an indictment.

An arrest warrant was issued for Neely on Friday afternoon, and he surrendered over the weekend. He is held on a $200,000 cash bond and his next court date is set for Aug. 17.