Officer involved in fatal shooting of teen identified

By Mary Manning

Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009 | 5:04 p.m.

The Metro Police officer involved in the fatal shooting of teenager Tanner Chamberlain has been identified.

Officer Derek Colling has been with Metro Police since September 2005, police said. He is currently assigned to the Southeast Area Command.

Police said Colling responded Tuesday to a domestic dispute call involving a "person with a weapon," police said.

When officers arrived at 4855 E. Vegas Valley Drive about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, they said they saw Chamberlain and his mother struggling in front of an apartment.

The boy, a junior at Chaparral High School, had his hand on the woman's shoulder and was holding a knife -- which police said had a blade 4 1/2 inches long -- at the throat of his mother.

Officers said they ordered him to drop the knife, but he made a threatening gesture with the knife and an officer fired a single shot.

The boy's mother, Evie Oquendo, has disputed the police version of the story, saying she cried out to them not to shoot her son.

Colling has been placed on paid administrative leave. The shooting is under investigation.