A Colorado School of Mines professor on Thursday was charged with several felony and misdemeanor charges, including driving under the influence, in connection to the death of a Golden police officer earlier this month.
The professor, 43-year-old Stephen Geer, told police he had one beer with a colleague before getting behind the wheel during a treacherous snowstorm in Golden on Nov. 6, according to the arrest affidavit.
Two Golden police officers were responding to a previous crash on Highway 58 around 4:40 p.m. The officers were in a single car that had its emergency lights on. It was snowing and the roads were slick.
While the officers were dealing with the crash, Geer, driving a black Subaru, allegedly plowed into one of the vehicles stopped for the previous crash and then hit four pedestrians standing outside the cars — two officers and two people who were in the previous crash, according to the arrest affidavit.
Officer Evan Dunn was pinned underneath Geer’s car and died. His colleague, Bethany Grusing, fractured a cheekbone and was also pinned under the car. The two others both suffered serious bodily injuries, the affidavit said.
A Golden Police spokeswoman said that Dunn is the first officer in the department to die while on duty.
Geer initially cooperated with a roadside check with officers on the scene after they told him they smelled alcohol on his breath. He told them he had one 16-ounce beer at the Mountain Toad Brewery in Golden, and officers say he had watery eyes and was unsteady, according to the affidavit.
Once they gave him a written copy of his Miranda rights, though, Geer stopped cooperating and stopped talking to law enforcement officers.
He’s charged with vehicular homicide in the death of Dunn and vehicular assaults for Grusing and the two other pedestrians. He was also charged with driving under the influence.
Prosecutors on Thursday didn’t have results back from his blood alcohol test, they said.
A School of Mines spokesman on Thursday said they don’t comment on personnel matters, but the president of the school issued a statement earlier this month, saying the school will look for ways to offer support to the community.
“The officers, their families, their colleagues in the Golden Police Department, and all others closely affected by this devastating event, are in our thoughts and prayers,” the statement said.
