The suspect shot multiple times in a gunfight on U.S. 287 south of Longmont last weekend died overnight at a Denver-area hospital, Boulder County sheriff’s officials announced this morning.
Adrian Joseph Shaffer, 37, of Boulder, had been undergoing medical treatment since being shot on Sept. 10. Sheriff’s officials had said he was in “critical, grave condition” following the shooting.
Had he survived, Shaffer would have faced possible charges of attempted first-degree murder for firing on Deputy Teri Javes, a 19-year veteran of the department.
Javes has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting.
Boulder County dispatchers received multiple reports around 5:15 p.m. Sept. 10 of a shirtless man in his 40s with some type of weapon tucked into his waistband standing on the side of U.S. 287 south of the Oxford Road intersection.
The man appeared to be trying to fight with passing traffic, sheriff’s officials said.
Javes was nearby at the time, and responded to the call, sheriff’s officials said. When she arrived, officials said, Shaffer “produced a handgun and opened fire.”
Javes shot back, hitting Shaffer twice. Javes was not wounded, but her patrol car was shot twice.
The Boulder County Coroner’s Office will determine the official cause and manner of Shaffer’s death.
A multijurisdictional “critical incident” team is investigating the officer-involved shooting and is expected to present its findings to Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett and Sheriff Joe Pelle by the end of the month, sheriff’s officials said.
The U.S. 287 gunfight marks the third fatal shooting by an officer from a Boulder County law enforcement agency in the last year, and the third fatal shooting by Boulder County sheriff’s deputies since 2013.
