Lakewood police killed man they say called 911 on himself

Lakewood police shot and killed a man they believe called 911 on himself.

The shooting happened at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday at the Terrace Apartments on 88th Street Court Southwest in Lakewood.

Family and friends identified the man as Keith Harvey. They say he had a stroke and suffered from some sort of mental health issues.

Lakewood police say he called 911 saying someone outside his apartment was threatening him and his family with a knife. But he was the only person police found who fit that description.

The orange markings in the parking lot of the Terrace Apartments are the only indication of the fatal shooting that happened here. By late afternoon, word was spreading that 43-year-old Harvey, a longtime resident, had been shot and killed by Lakewood police.

“The male caller was telling the dispatch center that he believed there was somebody in his apartment armed with a knife,” said Lakewood Police Lt. Chris Lawler, by telephone.

He says Harvey stayed on the line and told the operator the alleged intruder now had a gun, too.

“The officers kept coming,” said Lt. Lawler. “And when they got close to arriving he told dispatchers the person was near the front door.”

When the officers arrived, a person fitting the description rushed toward the officers with a knife. When he refused commands to drop it, they say, they shot him.

“And, they were able to determine there was no other armed person in the apartment,” Lawler said. “And the person that was armed and came at them with a knife was the person that called 911.”

“He called 911 because he heard someone outside,” said family friend Terrance Slaughter, outside the unit where Harvey lived with his brother. Harvey’s brother declined to talk. But Slaughter says they are trying to square what happened with what they know about Harvey.

“They told him to drop the knife,” said Slaughter. “They did tell him that. And I think he may have had a mental breakdown because he had mental problems also. So that probably played a big part in it.”

Lakewood police say they found a knife but not a gun.

The three officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, as is standard.

Lawler says they will likely release more information, including the identity of the officers involved, in a couple of days.