MONTROSE COUNTY, Colo. — A man opened fire on two deputies early Monday, wounding one, as they approached his home near Gould Reservoir to speak with him about a reported domestic disturbance.
The shooter was later found dead inside the home.
Deputy Corey Larsen was shot twice, once in the chest and once in the abdomen, said Montrose County Sheriff Rick Dunlap.
The other deputy, Dustin Harlow, narrowly missed being hit as he and Larsen raced to take cover in their vehicle.
The round hit the patrol unit, crashing through the front windshield on the passenger side and exiting through the rear cab window.
“He’s doing OK,” said Dunlap of Larsen, as he drove to St. Mary’s Hospital Monday afternoon to visit him.
“He’s out of surgery and everything went well. He’s in stable condition. His bullet proof vest definitely saved his life,” Dunlap said.
“He is in good spirits and doing fine,” Dunlap added late Monday evening.
Harlow was “a little shook up,” but otherwise OK, the sheriff said. “He did a good job throughout the entire incident, communicating through dispatch.”
Neither deputy had time to return fire.
“It all happened so fast,” Dunlap said.
Larsen was providing field training to Harlow, who had been on the job for about six weeks, Dunlap said. They had responded to the modest aqua and white home on E81 Road south of the Maher area, after the resident’s wife contacted them in nearby Crawford a bit before 2 a.m.
Dunlap said Monday that he did not know what she had told the deputies, as he had not yet been able to interview them or review reports.
When Larsen and Harlow arrived at the home: “He (the man inside) opened the door and immediately started firing at them,” Dunlap said.
Neighbors identified a man who lived in the residence as Kent Calhoun, a ditch rider for the Fruitland Irrigation Company. According to Montrose County Assessor’s records, the irrigation company owns the home in the 8000 block of E81 Road.
Authorities had not confirmed the decedent’s identity as of press time.
“Right now, there’s a confirmed death. Cause and manner of death are pending autopsy,” said Dr. Thomas Canfield, Montrose County coroner, at the scene Monday.
‘Wild morning’ shocks neighbors
A neighbor who identified herself only as Fern said she heard helicopters shortly before 6 a.m.
“I guess it was the flight for life to take the deputy. It’s been a wild morning,” Fern said.
“They were OK people. I knew her better. She was a nice person and he was, as far as I knew.”
She received a phone call directly from the sheriff’s office, instructing her to stay inside and keep her doors locked. She didn’t receive an emergency notification that had gone out, she said.
Later, authorities knocked on her door, but she said she didn’t answer because she wasn’t sure who was there.
“They were pretty good people, as far as I know,” said neighbor Clifford Reed, who said he also had received a phone call instructing him to remain indoors. “He was kind of a quiet person. It was kind of a shock this close to home.”
Reed and Fern both said they had never noticed anything amiss at the Calhoun residence, or any prior law enforcement visits there.
Authorities arrived in force Monday morning.
Dunlap called in his Special Response Team, plus Special Weapons and Tactics teams from the Montrose Police Department and Delta County Sheriff’s Office, as well as four members of the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team.
“We worked together on this to render this scene safe,” said Montrose Police Chief Tom Chinn, who accompanied Dunlap to the scene Monday morning.
“This place was right out in the open,” Dunlap said. “There was no way to get to it undetected, but by utilizing Mesa County’s armored vehicle, we were able to get right up to the house.”
Authorities tried to contact the man inside by voice, then tried phoning him, but there was no answer. The SWAT teams deployed a robotic camera into the home, which located a man on the floor and unresponsive, Chinn said.
“At that time, they deployed gas into the house and made entry. Once inside, they found one deceased male,” Dunlap said.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is handling the case, as is standard procedure when there are officer-involved shootings.
At least two CBI agents were on scene early Monday afternoon, awaiting the approval of a search warrant that sheriff’s investigators were obliged to coordinate from Crawford because of spotty cell phone service.
Monday’s shooting is a grim reminder of another domestic violence call during which officers were shot.
Montrose Police Sgt. David Kinterknecht died after Dennis Gurney opened fire on him and two other officers on July 25, 2009. Office Larry Witte and since-retired Officer Rodney Ragsdale were severely injured.
Gurney took his own life.
“Those are always dangerous calls, because there’s a lot of volatility involved and then you just never know what to expect when you get on scene,” Dunlap said.
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