Larimer County deputy fatally shoots man while serving court-ordered eviction

Sady Swanson, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·2 min read
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A Larimer County Sheriff's Office deputy fatally shot a man the sheriff's office says pulled a gun on deputies while they were conducting a court-ordered eviction.

Deputies went to a home in the 2300 block of West County Road 38E/Harmony Road about 10:45 a.m. Thursday to conduct the eviction, the sheriff's office said in a news release Thursday. The sheriff's office says a man answered the door, and when deputies told him they were there for an eviction, pulled out a gun and pointed it at the deputies.

The sheriff's office said deputies told the man to drop his gun before one deputy shot the man. He was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the news release.

The man's identity will be released by the Larimer County Coroner's Office at a later time.

The 8th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team has been activated to investigate the shooting. The Loveland Police Department will lead the investigation, with Fort Collins Police Services managing the release of information.

This is the seventh police shooting in Larimer County so far this year and the sixth shooting involving Larimer County Sheriff's Office deputies, according to Coloradoan records.

How CIRT works

The 8th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team, or CIRT, was formed in 2015 in accordance with a new state law requiring a multiagency team to investigate "an incident involving the discharge of a firearm by a peace officer that resulted in injury or death."

The team is automatically and immediately activated when a police officer is involved in a shooting. The agency that employs the officer or officers involved in a shooting is responsible for alerting the team.

CIRT can also investigate incidents involving officers that result in serious injury or death, including car crashes, as well as incidents in the Larimer County Jail.

Fort Collins Police Services, Loveland Police Department and the Larimer County Sheriff's Office take turns being the lead agency for police shooting investigations. Each year, the responsibility rotates to a different agency.

Agencies involved in the investigations include: Windsor Police Department, Timnath Police Department, Johnstown Police Department, Estes Park Police Department, Colorado State University Police Department, Colorado State Patrol and the Larimer County District Attorney's Office.

An agency cannot investigate itself.

After a CIRT investigation is completed, the report is presented to the district attorney, who decides if any criminal charges will be filed related to the incident.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Larimer County deputy fatally shoots man while conducting eviction