Family members of 23-year-old Sharod Kindell are calling for his release after Denver police shot him at least three times on Jan. 9 for using his car as a weapon.

“They didn’t even have a reason to pull him over,” said Shauna Landrum, Kindell’s aunt.

The shooting allegedly occurred when Officer Jeffrey DiManna tried to pull Kindell from his car. According to Kindell and his family, the car was still in reverse and struck DiManna and Officer Andrew Landon as it rolled backward, prompting DiManna to open fire. Kindell reportedly tried to flee on foot after the first several gunshots, but quickly collapsed.

DiManna has been involved in three other vehicle-related shootings in the past seven months.

“There have been an unusual number of those instances just in the last few months,” said Lynn Kimbrough, a spokesperson for the Denver District Attorney’s office. “I think there is a greater awareness of cases where you have a car used as a deadly weapon.”

An official police report about the shooting has yet to be released, as the incident is still under investigation. But a probable cause statement does address the cops’ reason for stopping Kindell.

According to the statement, Kindell ran a stop sign near the corner of 51st Avenue and Crown Boulevard. When police checked the vehicle’s plates, they found it was registered as a Hertz rental car out of Denver International Airport.

Further investigation revealed the car was “unreported stolen” -- meaning Hertz had not reported a stolen vehicle, but confirmed it was missing when police contacted the company.

Kindell is facing six charges, including two counts of assault, two counts of aggravated motor vehicle theft and one count of weapon possession by a previous offender. He also faces one charge of “possession with intent to manufacture or distribute marijuana,” meaning he was carrying more than four ounces of the drug.

He is currently being held in the Justice Center Detention Facility, where he was denied medication, according to his family.

Landrum said he also had to spend several days in the blood-soaked clothes he wore on Jan. 9.

“His main femoral vein was ruptured and he had to get surgery right after he was shot,” Landrum said.

Kindell’s family and friends reported their complaints with the detention center to the District Attorney’s office last Monday.

“Even though there isn’t anything we can do first-hand -- we don’t have any authority over the jail -- we can share those concerns, and we have,” said Kimbrough.

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