Deputy Sam Brownlee, Weld County, Colorado; EOW 23 Nov 2010

I opened my e-mail when I got up today and found one from the Blue Knights e-mail list I am on. This concerned a Weld County, Colorado Deputy who was also a Blue Knight who was killed in the line of duty yesterday.

I have written in the past about officers losing their lives in the line of duty, and the Officer Down Memorial Page - ODMP.org - shows that so far in 2010, 147 officers have died in the line of duty. If I reported on every one, I would unfortunately be doing it full time.

The story of Deputy Sam Brownlee caught my eye for a couple of reasons. First, Deputy Brownlee was a Blue Knight. Blue Knights is the largest and best Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club in the world, with over 20,000 members world-wide. The other thing that caught my eye was the fact that it happened in Evans, Colorado, which borders Greeley on the south. My oldest daughter, Heather and her husband and son live in Greeley. Three years ago they moved from Evans to an area in Greeley which is farther west than where they were living.

There have not been a lot of details released about the actual shooting, but today it was reported that Deputy Brownlee was involved in a struggle with the suspect. The suspect eventually got Deputy Brownlee’s sidearm and shot Deputy Brownlee three times.  Other officers on the scene returned fire and the suspect was also killed.

The incident started an hour earlier with a domestic violence call in Ft Morgan, 55 miles east of Greeley. A woman reported that her car was stolen by a man she knew. The stolen car was spotted on Hwy 34 and a Morgan County Deputy and a Wiggins officer attempted to stop it. The driver refused to stop, and a nearly hour-long chase ensued with speeds reaching over 100 MPH at times. At times the suspect drove on the wrong side of the road and at Kersey, 10 miles east of Greeley, his vehicle was clocked at 107 MPH. Stop sticks were deployed to slow the vehicle down. The driver eventually stopped in Evans in the area of Coyote Lane and Cedar Lane. The suspect ran from the car and there was a foot pursuit that ended when Deputy Brownlee and the suspect were both shot.

The Greeley Tribune had a map along with the story. I thought the area sounded familiar to me, and when I checked it, I learned why. It is just about 4 blocks from where Heather and Dana used to live.

I will not name the 20-year old suspect because he does not deserve to have his name and picture made public. I will say this - he was a gang member and was currently on probation for felony menacing in January and DUI in July. He was also arrested for assault causing serious bodily harm in March, but that charge was dismissed. According to the Greeley Tribune, Court records show that the suspect still owes $30,000 restitution in the felony menacing case.

It appears that Colorado’s judicial and probation system failed the public by letting this career criminal back out on the street.

I send my condolences the family, friends and co-workers of Deputy Sam Brownlee. May God guide you through these difficult times. To Deputy Sam Brownlee, thank you for your service and rest well. Your fellow officers will take over from here.