AURORA | Arapahoe County District Attorney Amy Padden released a detailed report Friday concluding that Aurora police acted reasonably and lawfully when an officer fatally shot a 17-year-old boy who told a 911 dispatcher he planned to shoot police and then charged at officers while appearing to conceal a gun at an Aurora gas station.
The decision clears Aurora Police Officer Derek Paulson of any criminal wrongdoing in the Sept. 18, 2025, shooting death of an unarmed Blaze Balle-Mason outside a Conoco gas station at 290 S. Havana St.
Police training experts and some local officers said the incident unfolded as what police call a “suicide by cop” case, where people threaten mass shootings or other violent crimes with the intent of prompting police to kill them when they respond…