Updated at 7:06 a.m. on Friday, March 7, 2025.
A woman with a felony warrant out of Oklahoma died after she was shot by Clear Creek sheriff’s deputies Thursday west of Denver in the tiny town of Lawson.
It was the first officer-involved shooting by Clear Creek deputies since Christian Glass was killed by a deputy there in June 2022.
Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Jenny Fulton said the incident began in Empire shortly after 10 a.m. when a person in a vehicle with the woman called police to alert them to her out-of-state warrant.
Empire Police then called the sheriff’s office to assist with what was deemed a “high-risk” arrest.
When authorities arrived at a parking lot off I-70 and Highway 40, the suspect was sitting alone in the passenger seat of the vehicle. Fulton said she ignored deputies commands to exit and instead jumped into the driver’s seat, leading them and Empire Police officers on a chase.
Fulton said the woman eventually crashed after taking a turn too quickly near an interstate bridge at County Road 306 in Lawson.
“She eventually did get out of the vehicle, but she still had the firearm with her and she pointed it in the direction of officers and deputies,” Fulton said. “Then she walked from the crash site to the bridge that goes over Clear Creek. Deputies attempted to get her to comply with commands to drop the weapon by using less lethal options and those were unsuccessful. Then she raised her firearm and she pointed it directly at our deputies.”
Three deputies then fired their guns at the woman who was taken to the hospital. She was pronounced dead just after 12 p.m. Thursday.
Fulton was uncertain what less-than-lethal options were used before the deputies fired.
Clear Creek County, two other law enforcement agencies and the state paid out a $19 million settlement to the parents of Christian Glass, who was shot and killed while undergoing a mental health crisis there in 2022. Former Clear Creek Deputy Andrew Buen was recently convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the case and awaits sentencing.
As part of that settlement agreement, Clear Creek pledged to improve the training of deputies and create a crisis intervention team.
Editor's Note: This story was updated to clarify Lawson's location.
