Denver TV Station Security Guard Charged With Second-Degree Murder

By Stephanie Tsoflias Siegel 

The security guard who was hired to protect a KUSA producer at a protest in downtown Denver on Oct. 11 has been charged with second-degree murder following a fatal shooting.

Matthew Dolloff, 30, who was working as a private security guard contracted by the television station, is accused of shooting and killing 49-year-old Lee Keltner after a heated exchange at dueling protests between Black Lives Matter protestors and a counter-protest deemed the Patriot Muster.

If convicted, Dolloff faces between 16 and 48 years in prison, according to the Colorado Sun.

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According to police, Keltner struck Dolloff in the face as Dolloff attempted to intervene in a verbal altercation between Keltner and another protestor. In the moments before the shooting, which the KUSA producer captured on video, Keltner appears to pull out a can of pepper spray. Police say Dolloff fired one shot as Keltner discharged his can of pepper spray. Keltner was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead.

Dolloff’s attorney said the security guard acted in self-defense, as has the owner of the security company that hired Dolloff to work for the station. 9News said the station requested an unarmed guard.

A judge set a $500,000 bond for Dolloff’s release.

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