They violated department by policy by firing a weapon at a moving or fleeing vehicle, according to disciplinary letters.

DENVER — Two officers with the Denver Police Department (DPD) have been suspended for 90 days without pay for violating department policy when they fired at a moving vehicle in 2018, according to disciplinary letters from the DPD.

Officers Austin Barela and Susan Mercado were notified in writing of their suspensions on Feb. 10.

Both of them and a third officer fired their weapons at two men inside an SUV after a high-speed chase on March 19, 2018.

>> The video above shows the body camera footage from the shooting.

Earlier that day, undercover Denver detectives had been watching a home in Aurora where the girlfriend of Mauricio Venzor-Gonalez, a prisoner who escaped from deputy custody at Denver Health, lived.

Around 6:20 p.m., officers saw an SUV with two people inside approach the house. The passenger, police said, was in a hoodie, and two detectives agreed that person was likely Venzor-Gonzalez, according to the Denver District Attorney's Office. Investigators later learned it was not him.

Shortly before 7 p.m., the SUV left the home and officers pursued the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. The driver did not stop and instead sped off with officers chasing them.

It ended in the 4100 block of Albion Street.

Three officers discharged their weapons, but numerous other officers who arrived at the scene, did not fire, according to the disciplinary letter.

Steven Nguyen and Rafael Landeros were both struck by gunfire. Nguyen died from his injuries.

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann ruled that the shooting was justified because Colorado law gives officers the ability to use deadly force if they're trying to arrest someone they reasonably believe has committed a felony with a weapon.

However, under DPD policy, "it is specifically prohibited to fired a moving or fleeing vehicle unless deadly force is being used against an officer or another person."

The internal investigation found that Officer Barela fired a total of 34 rounds from his weapon.

Barela got out of his vehicle with "no cover" and moved toward the suspects, according to his disciplinary letter. The suspects were moving in the vehicle, but the vehicle was faced away from the officer's position, the letter says.

He chose to fire his weapon when he perceived that the passenger door opened slightly, the letter says. He suggested that he feared the passengers were going to get out and begin shooting, the letter says.

However, the internal investigation found that did not meet the standard for "reasonable belief" that he was in danger.

The letter notes that two other officers arrived and "chose to take cover" and made "independent decisions" not to fire their weapons.

By contrast, the letter says, Barela placed himself in a vulnerable position, which, according to the letter, may have contributed to the fear that resulted in his decision to fire his weapon.

Finally, the letter says, the suspects' vehicle was stopped, pointed downward into a drainage ditch filled with rocks and Barela's belief that the vehicle was a "continued threat" was not reasonable.

He was ultimately suspended for 90 days without pay. His suspension began Feb. 23 and will end March 22.

Investigators also recovered a weapon from the suspects' vehicle, and although the weapon was functional, there was no evidence that it was fired during the confrontation with officers, according to the disciplinary letter.

Officer Mercado "failed to assess the situation to determine if there was a threat," according to her disciplinary letter. Instead, according to the letter, she exited her vehicle and almost immediately fired her weapon.

She fired her weapon twice, even though there was "no deadly force was being used against her or other officers when she fired," the letter says.

She was also suspended for 90 days which will run from Feb. 23 to March 22.

Venzor-Gonzalez, the man police believed was in the SUV, was able to escape Denver sheriff's deputies at Denver Health while on a prison transfer on March 19. He was there "for a scheduled appointment of some kind," the Sheriff's Department said. He was found just 13 miles from the medical center months later in late August. When he escaped, he was being held on an attempted murder of a police officer charge.

He was later convicted on five of the six counts he faced and was sentenced to decades in prison.