A Mancos resident was fatally shot by Montezuma County deputies on Thursday after he refused repeated commands to drop the weapon, said Sheriff Steven Nowlin.
The resident, John Thompson, 42, suffered several gunshot wounds and died at the scene after the deputies performed emergency medical aid on him, according to a news release from Nowlin.
The deputies were dispatched to 37813 Road M north of Mancos after the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office received a call at 9 a.m. Thursday morning.
The call was from Thompson’s aunt, who was reportedly concerned for her disabled sister – Thompson’s elderly mother – who lived with him.
The night before, at 10 p.m. Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office received a call from Thompson’s mother and dispatched deputies to her home, as she expressed concerns for her safety. She said Thompson was “armed and acting crazy.”
When deputies arrived, Thompson “was cooperative and showed no signs of being a threat,” the report said.
The next morning, at 6:45, the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office was trying to locate Thompson after he “pointed a gun at a La Plata County resident” and left in a gray Dodge pickup truck.
For these reasons, a few hours later, at 9 a.m., Thompson’s sister made that call to the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office requesting a welfare check.
When the two deputies arrived at 9:35 a.m., Thompson was in the driveway and went to the gray Dodge pickup and “retrieved a large-caliber rifle and approached the deputies, in a threatening manner,” the report said.
Thompson’s mother was inside and safe. Neither of the deputies were injured, either. They will be on paid leave until an investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, Cortez Police Department and Colorado State Patrol is complete.
The Journal will update this article when additional information becomes available.
