The Golden police officers killed and injured Wednesday in a suspected DUI crash were identified Thursday. Earlier that day, a Colorado School of Mines professor accused in the crash appeared in court.
Golden officials on Thursday afternoon said Evan Dunn, 33, was killed in the line of duty while responding to the crash on Colorado 58. Officer Bethany Grusing was seriously injured.
Stephen Geer, a 43-year-old Colorado School of Mines mechanical engineering professor who was arrested and held overnight in the crash that killed Dunn, is being investigated for vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. He appeared Thursday morning before Jefferson County Court Judge Thomas Vance, who set Geer’s bond at $250,000 and scheduled his next appearance for Nov. 14
Geer has no prior criminal history and deep ties to the community.
Dunn, who also served as a pilot and company commander in the Colorado National Guard, and Grusing were outside their vehicle investigating a separate crash shortly before 5 p.m. when a vehicle driven by Geer hit a vehicle along an overpass curve, Golden Police Chief Joe Harvey said late Wednesday.
The officers were forced under the vehicle from the initial crash and were trapped, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
“There was one officer staged in a police cruiser before the crash scene and two additional officers managing the crash site when a passing vehicle entered the scene. Both officers at the original crash site were struck and forced under the original crashed vehicle,” CSP officials said Thursday morning in a news release.
Dunn died at the scene of the collision.
Geer “was driving in a way that was unsafe on an already unsafe day,” Jeffco senior deputy district attorney Alexa Visscher said at the hearing Thursday morning.
Geer told police he had one 16-ounce beer at a local brewery on Wednesday before the collision at the scene of a crash on icy roads, defense attorney Lindsay Stone said in the hearing.
“This crash could have happened to anyone…..” Stone said, noting that the prior crash had just occurred and “there was no set-up alerting him to that crash.”
No results from a blood alcohol test were available Thursday morning.
Harvey called Dunn “an amazing human being” who had “a long stellar career in the military, where he flew Blackhawk helicopters and served as a commander.” He is survived by his wife, two siblings and parents. Grusing was taken to a hospital.
Colorado School of Mines president Paul Johnson issued a statement saying “The Mines community is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of a Golden police officer yesterday and injuries to a second officer while they were responding to a crash on Colorado 58. 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. We grieve with them today, we pray for the recovery of the injured officer, and we will look for ways to offer support during this incredibly difficult time.”
Gov. Jared Polis ordered flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sundown on the day of Dunn’s memorial service, which hasn’t been set.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of Officer Dunn, and my thoughts go out to his family and friends on the Golden Police Department. We also hope for a speedy recovery for the officer who was injured in this incident. Our law enforcement officers put themselves in harm’s way to protect Coloradans day in and day out, and that’s exactly what Officer Dunn and his partner, Officer Bethany Grusing, were doing. We are grateful for their service and commitment to keeping Coloradans safe,” Polis said.
The Golden Police Department set up a Colorado Fallen donation website at t.co/Yo6Vouyi1g to help Dunn’s family.
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