A law enforcement procession will wind its way through Southern Colorado on Tuesday afternoon to honor a parole officer who died while trying to serve a warrant last week.
Colorado Springs Police and State Patrol cars will escort Officer Christine Guerin Sandoval from Colorado Springs to Pueblo, where she lived. The procession will start at 3:15 p.m. at the El Paso County Coroner's Office.
The planned route winds down Las Vegas St. to Highway 85/87 before turning onto South Academy Blvd and I-25. Community members can line up along Highway 85/87 to pay their respects, according to CSPD.
Guerin Sandoval died while working on Sept. 28, and her killing triggered a statewide “Blue Alert” from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. The alerts trigger cell phone notifications that let people know a suspect accused of killing or seriously injuring a peace officer is on the loose.
According to CSPD, Guerin Sandoval, along with three fellow parole officers, were attempting to contact a “suspect known to them” in the parking lot of a local business. Nearby, CSPD officers were responding to an unrelated car crash involving a pedestrian.
The car crash suspect attempted to flee the scene in their car, striking Guerin Sandoval and another officer before driving off. Guerin Sandoval was transported to a hospital where she died from her injuries. Police later arrested the suspect, 41-year-old Justin Kula.
In a press conference following her death, colleagues called Guerin Sandoval a dedicated public servant, mother, daughter and wife.
“Christine was making a safer community,” said Moses Stancil, executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections.
The procession will end at the 6th Street exit off I-25 in Pueblo. Regular traffic along the route will be heavily delayed during the procession, according to CSPD.
