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Police officer who killed Olde Town Arvada good Samaritan won't face charges, DA announces

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by Kyle Cooke • Published on • Last modified on
According to police, the Good Samaritan was holding the suspect's AR-15 when a police officer shot him. The DA said the officer was legally justified.
Officers secure the area around Olde Wadsworth Boulevard, where a police officer, civilian, and gunman were shot and killed June 21, 2021
Credit: Ryan Dunn, Arvada Press/Colorado Community Media
News | Rocky Mountain PBS

Update (November 8, 2021): First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King announced that no charges would be filed against the Arvada Police officer who shot and killed John Hurley, the Golden man who killed Ronald Troyke on June 21 of this year. Troyke was the gunman who opened fire in the town, killing Arvada PD Officer Gordon Beesley.

The officer who killed Hurley has not been identified. King said her staff spent the morning with the Hurley family notifying them of their decision.

"They lost a brave son and brother that day, and we really appreciate everyone's patience," King said of the Hurley family.

"One thing that became evident throughout our review is that John Hurley, that day, acted as a hero," King added. "Had he survived, we would have praised his bravery in engaging a mass shooter before anyone else was killed. He acted to defend others, and we will remember him for his selflessness."

King said the officer who killed Hurley was legally justified to shoot Hurley, who was holding Troyke's AR-15 when the officer shot him.

CBS Denver obtained a statement from Hurley's mother, Kathleen Boleyn, that read in part: "I imagine that many people are angry and that is understandable. I would ask that instead of acting out on your anger, that you use that energy to be the change you wish to see in the world. Engage in meaningful conversations that might make a difference in how we all may move forward together."

You can read our original coverage below.

ARVADA, Colo. — After John Hurley died in a triple shooting in Olde Town Arvada on June 21, police officers were quick to label the 40-year-old from Golden as a Good Samaritan.

John Hurley

Arvada Police Chief Link Strate went further: in a press conference the day after the shooting, Strate called Hurley a “true hero,” adding that Hurley “likely disrupted what could have been a larger loss of life.”

But what police didn’t immediately disclose was the fact that it was one of their own officers who shot and killed Hurley, not 59-year-old Ronald Troyke, the gunman suspected of killing Officer Gordon Beesley.

In a press release issued Friday, June 25 around 4:30 p.m., the Arvada Police Department confirmed that a police officer responding to the shooting was the person who shot and killed Hurley.

According to police, Hurley was holding the gunman’s AR-15 when the officer shot him. However, investigators say the AR-15 was not the gun that Troyke used to shoot Beesley. It is unclear why Hurley was holding the AR-15.

Below is a timeline of the June 21 shooting, provided by Arvada PD:

  • 12:49 p.m. – The suspect’s brother calls asking for a welfare check because his brother was going to “do something crazy.”
  • 1:08 p.m. -Officer Beesley and another Arvada PD Officer attempted to contact the suspect at his residence, to check his welfare as requested. They are unable to make contact with him, and clear from the call for service at 1:18 p.m.
  • 1:17 p.m. – Dispatch receives a suspicious person call in the Olde Town Square.
  • 1:30 p.m. – Officer Beesley is dispatched to the suspicious person call, arriving at the Olde Town Square at 1:31 p.m.
  • Officer Beesley parked on Webster Street and walked through an alley toward the Olde Town Square.
    • As Officer Beesley walked westbound, the suspect pulled into the area in a truck and parked behind him.
    • The suspect got out of his truck with a 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun, ran after Officer Beesley and yelled at him.
    • Officer Beesley stopped, turned and immediately was shot twice by the suspect.
    • Officer Beesley did not reach for his gun and takes no defensive action – he simply turns in response to the suspect who then shoots and kills him.
    • The suspect then shot out the windows of patrol cars parked in the area and into the air.
    • The suspect ran back to his truck and retrieved an AR-15.
    • The suspect ran back towards the Olde Town Square with the long gun, where he was confronted by Mr. Hurley.
    • Mr. Hurley then shot the suspect with a handgun.
    • A responding Arvada Police Officer then encountered Mr. Hurley, who was holding the suspect’s AR-15. The officer shot him.

The day of the shooting, police said Beesley was targeted due to the fact that he was a police officer, but didn’t elaborate.

However, on Friday, investigators released excerpts from a document allegedly penned by Troyke that showed his intentions to kill police officers.

According to police, the document said, “Today I will kill as many Arvada officers as I possibly can” and “I just hope I don’t die without killing any of you pigs.”

So far, police have not released a copy of the document.

More information, including a video of the suspect, is available here. Warning: the video may be disturbing to some viewers.

Kyle Cooke is the Digital Media Manager at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at kylecooke@rmpbs.org or on Twitter at @KyleACooke.

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