Michael Hancock, 48, is currently serving as the 45th and current mayor of Denver, Colorado and has been since July 18, 2011. It’s a huge coincidence that a different Michael Hancock, 29, is making national headlines for murder in the city — the suspect is not related to the mayor, his office confirms. A Denver Uber driver, Hancock shot Hyun Kim, 45, with a semiautomatic Ruger pistol during a confrontation at 2:47 a.m. Friday, June 1, 2018.
Hancock called 911 to report the shooting after crashing his silver Nissan sedan into the median. When they arrived, officers found Kim slumped over on the floorboard of the front passenger seat and provided aid until paramedics arrived. Kim, a husband and father, was Hancock’s passenger and died of multiple gunshot wounds. Hancock was taken to the hospital because he had trouble breathing and declined to speak with the detectives without an attorney. He allegedly told a witness that he opened fire after his customer tried to attack him.
“He’s a husband, a father, a college student. He works two jobs,” Stephanie Hancock, the driver’s mother, tells 9NEWS. “It’s a terrible, terrible thing that happened. We don’t know anything else.” She shared he worked with Uber to earn extra money. He also works as a counselor at a group home for teenagers.
His father Michael Hancock Sr. adds, “He’s a great dad.”
According to a statement by Uber, Hancock has been driving with the ride-hailing company for three years. While he had a permit to carry a concealed handgun, he violated the company’s policy, which prohibits riders and their guests as well as drivers and delivery partners from carrying firearms in vehicles. He’s a former security guard.
In 2017, Colorado regulators fined Uber $8.9M for allowing 57 people with criminal records or driver’s license issues to drive for the company.
On April 21, Hancock was pulled over by police and charged with driving under restraint and speeding.
“We’re going to determine what the relationship was between what appears to be a passenger and a driver prior to this particular ride,” says Denver police spokesperson Sonny Jackson. “That’s the one thing I would stress anyone that was on the highway at this time ….if they saw a conflict going on inside this vehicle please let us know.”
Hancock has been removed from the ride-hailing app, according to Uber. He was arrested at 8 a.m. the morning of the shooting and faces first degree murder charges.
