Guard Arrested, Victim ID'd in Denver Protest Killing

'He was there to rally for the police department,' victim's son says
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 11, 2020 4:00 PM CDT
Security Guard Jailed After Shooting at Denver Protests
A man sprays mace, left, as another man fatally fires a gun, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020 in Denver.   (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP)

A private security guard working for a local TV station was jailed for investigation of first-degree murder in the deadly shooting of another man during dueling right- and left-wing protests in downtown Denver, police said Sunday. Matthew Dolloff, 30, was taken into custody in connection with a clash that took place Saturday afternoon in Civic Center Park, the AP reports. A man participating in what was billed a "Patriot Rally" slapped and sprayed Mace at a man who appeared to be Dolloff, based on its photographs from the scene. The man identified by the newspaper as Dolloff apparently drew a gun from his waistband and shot the other person. The shooting victim died at a hospital. His name hasn't been released, but his son tells the Denver Post that the victim was Lee Keltner.

Keltner was a 49-year-old hat maker and Navy veteran who had worked in the Denver area for years. "He wasn't a part of any group," says his son Johnathon. "He was there to rally for the police department and he'd been down there before rallying for the police department." An Arkansas woman who identifies as Keltner's mother posted on Facebook that "he was murdered because he backed the police." Any possible charges are still pending, police said, and it was not immediately clear if Dolloff had an attorney. KUSA said it had hired the guard through the Pinkerton security firm. "It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to hire private security to accompany staff at protests," the station said. (Read more about the protests and the shooting.)

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