Mesa County Sheriff: Deputy In Final Hours Of Life
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (CBS4) - The Mesa County Sheriff shared some devastating news about the condition of the deputy who was shot on Monday morning, posting on Facebook that "Deputy Derek Geer is in the final hours of his life."
The Mesa County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that Greer would be taken off life support Tuesday night and his organs will be donated.
Mesa County Sheriff Matt Lewis posted the following message on Facebook early Tuesday morning, "Update 3: I am heartbroken to update all staff that Deputy Derek Geer is in the final hours of his life. He is currently on life support at St. Mary's Hospital while final arrangements are made for him to provide one last measure of service in the form of organ donation. I am told this could take up to 48 hours.
We will not wait to begin to honor Deputy Geer and his sacrifice. Effective immediately and until further notice please shroud your badge in honor of Deputy Geer. We have posted a uniformed guard on Deputy Geer and will be providing a schedule of our needs if you would like to participate in guarding him. We will begin meeting with his family and working with them to understand their wishes and how we can support them. I will keep you updated as we develop plans with Deputy Geer's family.
Please continue to support each other and keep Deputy Geer's family in your thoughts and prayers. I will continue to update as any new information is received.
This has been a tragic and terrible day for the Mesa County Sheriff's Office but I know if we support and care for each other we will eventually begin to heal."
Geer, 40, was shot just after 11 a.m. Monday. He was responding to a call about a person wearing a black bandanna over his face and walking around with a gun.
"We've had a tragedy and you all know that. This is a tragedy for this agency and a tragedy for this community," said Lewis.
The shooting occurred in the 500 Block of Fruitvale Court. Residents told CBS4's Matt Kroschel they called 911 when they saw the person running down the road.
Henry Stoffel with the Mesa County Sheriff's Office said deputies approached the subject and he resisted when he was told he would be taken into custody.
"The male was tased, produced a handgun after being tased, and fired multiple rounds at the deputy," said Lewis.
Geer was shot multiple times.
Geer is a Navy veteran and father of two. He's been with the sheriff's office since 2001. The suspect's name hasn't been released because he's a juvenile.
"This is a person who has dedicated his adult life to this organization to protecting this community and quite possibly made the ultimate sacrifice," said Lewis.