Jor'Dell Richardson

Jor'Dell Richardson, 14, was shot and killed by Aurora, Colorado Police Officer Roch Gruszeczka on June 1, 2023, seconds after being tackled at the end of a foot chase following a suspected robbery of a convenience store. Body camera video showed Richardson reaching toward his waistband as officers chased him into an alley; Officer James Snapp tackled him, and five seconds later Gruszeczka fired a single shot into his upper abdomen while shouting “Gun, gun. Let go of the [expletive] gun.” The weapon turned out to be a pellet-gun replica of a 9mm pistol. Richardson pleaded for help and lost consciousness within moments; he was pronounced dead at a hospital. The 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office announced in September 2023, three months later, that Gruszeczka was legally justified and would face no charges. No one has ever been charged in Richardson's death.

Aurora, CO · Arapahoe County

• 2023: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• The robbery report, the foot chase, and the shooting, per body-worn camera video from both officers and the district attorney's public report of findings.
• A group of teenagers, including Richardson, allegedly robbed a convenience store of vape cartridges; a store employee said Richardson displayed what he believed was a gun by lifting his sweatshirt.
• Officer Snapp tackled Richardson in an alley as he fled; roughly five seconds later, Officer Gruszeczka fired a single shot into Richardson's upper abdomen while yelling commands about a gun.
• The recovered weapon was a pellet-gun replica of a 9mm pistol, not a functioning firearm.
• Officers began CPR and called an ambulance; Richardson was taken to University Hospital in Aurora, where he was pronounced dead at 5:05 p.m.
• The 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office, following review by its Critical Incident Response Team, concluded in a report released September 6, 2023 that Gruszeczka “was legally justified in using deadly physical force” and separately cleared Officer Snapp of any criminal liability for the tackle.
• Aurora Police Department's own internal affairs bureau conducted a separate review alongside the district attorney's investigation; its findings were not made public in the same release.

• Whether Richardson's motion toward his waistband, in the roughly five seconds after being tackled, presented the kind of imminent deadly threat that legally justified the shot, given the weapon turned out to be a pellet-gun replica, was the central dispute the district attorney's report addressed but that was never tested at any criminal trial.
• The specific findings of Aurora Police Department's own internal affairs investigation, run in parallel with the district attorney's review, have not been made comprehensively public.
• Whether officers had any realistic opportunity to identify the pellet gun as a replica before firing, given the entire encounter from tackle to gunshot lasted about five seconds, was not directly addressed beyond the report's general finding of legal justification.

• CPR News — “No charges filed against Aurora Police officer who shot and killed Jor'Dell Richardson”
• CBS News Colorado — “DA confirms no criminal charges for Aurora police in Jor'Dell Richardson's death”
• 9NEWS (KUSA) — “DA will not file charges in police shooting of Jor'Dell Richardson, source says”
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs