CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. — A woman who was wanted on a felony warrant out of Oklahoma was shot and killed by three Clear Creek County deputies on Thursday.
The Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office said it received a call for help from Empire police around 10:20 a.m. Officers were attempting to conduct a high-risk arrest on a woman who was wanted for felony illegal possession of a firearm in Oklahoma.
Deputies arrived and found the woman sitting in a parked vehicle in an empty parking lot at Empire Junction, located near the intersection of Highway 40 and the westbound off-ramp from Interstate 70. Law enforcement ordered the woman to get out of the vehicle, but she refused.
The sheriff’s office said the woman drove off westbound on Junction Loop Road, then crossed the bridge south to Alvarado Road. She turned east on CO 306 and continued eastbound towards the intersection with CO 308.
Just before the intersection, CO 306 curves sharply to the left. According to the sheriff’s office, the driver “failed to manipulate the curve” and went off the roadway before crashing into brush and trees just south of Clear Creek.
The sheriff’s office said the woman was armed with a firearm and “continued to ignore commands to exit the vehicle.” Authorities used “less lethal options to try to gain compliance,” but those were ineffective.
At some point, the woman exited the vehicle but refused to drop the weapon. The sheriff’s office said the woman pointed the firearm in the direction of law enforcement and walked onto the bridge over the creek. Authorities “continued to utilize less lethal techniques to try to gain compliance to drop the weapon” but were unsuccessful.
According to the sheriff’s office, the woman raised the firearm again and pointed it directly at deputies. In response, three deputies fired their service weapons at the woman.
The woman was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and died just after noon. The Clear Creek County Coroner’s Office will release her identity at a later time.
The three deputies were placed on paid administrative leave, per department policy. The shooting is being investigated by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
