2 Colorado State Patrol troopers shot and injured during traffic stop, suspect shot and killed later
By Jesse Sarles
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TELLER COUNTY, Colorado (KCNC) — Two Colorado State Patrol troopers were shot and injured while attempting to conduct a traffic stop in southern Colorado, the law enforcement agency said. It happened on Tuesday morning in the mountains west of Colorado Springs, near Woodland Park, in Teller County.
After an extensive search, the suspect was located and shot by officers during a confrontation and a Blue Alert that was issued by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation was deactivated.
“This is a difficult situation, but I will tell you this. If you shoot a Colorado state trooper, the world is coming for you, and that’s what happened today — and I’m grateful for that response,” Colorado State Patrol Chief Matthew Packard said in a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
Officials with the Colorado State Patrol said at approximately 7:15 a.m., the troopers were trying to pull someone over on Highway 24 near Piney Point Lane, very close to the community of Crystola, when the driver shot the trooper multiple times. A second trooper arrived to help, and CSP says the suspect also shot at them.
Both troopers were able to drive themselves to the hospital, and one has since been released. Authorities say both are expected to recover.
The Teller County Sheriff’s Office said in an online post that the suspect was driving a blue Subaru Impreza “with license plates not visible through tinted covers.” He allegedly drove off after the shooting, and law enforcement were searching for him near Westwood Lakes and Woodland West. Just before 10 a.m., the sheriff’s office said the suspect was located when a nearby homeowner recognized him from the reverse 911 call and the Blue Alert issued after the first shooting.
The CBI sends out Blue Alerts when there is a suspect who is not in custody after a law enforcement officer was killed or severely wounded. Tuesday’s Blue Alert was in effect for more than an hour.
A shelter-in-place order that was put into place for residents on Trout Creek Road and Piney Point Lane was also lifted. The sheriff’s office used a drone to assist with the search in that area.
At about 9:40 a.m. a SWAT team and dozens of other armed law enforcement officers could be seen in video from CBS Colorado’s news helicopter outside of a house located close to Highway 24. That’s where Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said the suspect began firing at law enforcement officers including county deputies. None were hurt, but the suspect died as a result of gunshot injuries he sustained in return fire.
“In Colorado, we have very good law enforcement officers. And I will tell you — to attempt an ambush and take the life of my deputy? The party was struck multiple times. Our deputies are well trained, and we will not allow someone in this county to ever attempt to take the lives of someone in this county,” Mikesell said.
One of the troopers’ injuries was described as serious, and the other’s were described as being minor. Both troopers were being treated at a hospital and are expected to survive. Neither has been identified.
Mikesell said, “There’s a lot of questions about why somebody did this. But I want you to understand something. These deputies and officers were heroic in everything they did. They were ambushed the first time. And I want you to think about something. They were ambushed a second time, and then we had another ambush on an officer. Look, I can’t say enough at how heroic those deputies are, because we don’t know what this subject would have done afterward.”
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