Mancos gunman shot after refusing to obey officers’ orders – The Durango Herald

Thompson approached officers in a “threatening manner” and refused to drop his gun, Nowlin says

John Thompson was shot and killed following an encounter on Road M with Montezuma County Sheriff’s officers when he reportedly refused to comply with orders to drop his weapon Thursday morning. (Shylee Graf/The Journal)

A Mancos resident was shot and killed by Montezuma County officers Thursday after he repeatedly refused to comply with orders to drop his weapon, Sheriff Steven Nowlin said.

The resident, John Thompson, 42, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died at the scene after officers rendered emergency medical aid, Nowlin said in a news release.

Officers 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 came from Thompson’s aunt, who was reportedly concerned about her disabled sister – Thompson’s elderly mother – who lived with him.

The previous evening, at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, the sheriff’s office received a call from Thompson’s mother and sent officers to her home because she was concerned for her safety. She said Thompson was “armed and acting crazy.”

When officers arrived, Thompson was “cooperative and showed no signs of being threatened,” the report said.

The next morning at 6:45 a.m., the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office attempted to locate Thompson after he “pointed a weapon at a La Plata County resident” and fled in a gray Dodge pickup truck.

For these reasons, Thompson’s sister called the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office a few hours later at 9 a.m. and asked for a welfare check.

When the two officers arrived at 9:35 a.m., Thompson was standing in the driveway, walked to the gray Dodge pickup, “retrieved a large caliber rifle and approached the officers in a threatening manner,” the report said.

Thompson’s mother was inside and unharmed. The officers were also unharmed. They will be on paid leave pending the completion of the investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, Cortez Police Department and Colorado State Patrol.

The Journal will update this article as more information becomes available.

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