Updated
Updated · The Denver Post · Jul 16
Geo Group Employee Brandon Booth Arrested in Aurora Protest Shooting, Held on $500,000 Bail
Updated
Updated · The Denver Post · Jul 16

Geo Group Employee Brandon Booth Arrested in Aurora Protest Shooting, Held on $500,000 Bail

3 articles · Updated · The Denver Post · Jul 16

Summary

  • Aurora police arrested 42-year-old Geo Group employee Brandon Booth after he shot a woman in the foot outside the city’s 1,500-bed ICE detention center, leaving her with non-life-threatening injuries.
  • Booth faces attempted second-degree murder and other charges after telling investigators he fired a personally owned pistol to scare two women following a verbal confrontation over threats about his children and their school.
  • Police said Booth stepped into the street, fired, then fled in a Chevrolet Tahoe before officers stopped him less than 2 miles away; the second woman was not injured.
  • Geo Group said Booth was off duty and has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, while Aurora’s police chief called the shooting a tragedy and said violence would not be tolerated.
  • The shooting followed a weekly protest outside the detention center, which has drawn added scrutiny during a tuberculosis-related standoff and amid concerns over Geo Group’s planned expansion to a second Colorado facility.

Insights

An employee shoots a protester. Should his company, facing forced labor lawsuits, now open a new half-billion dollar detention center?
What does a guard's violent reaction to threats reveal about the high-pressure culture inside the for-profit detention industry?
As detainee deaths hit a 20-year high, why is the private prison system expanding with a new Colorado facility?