One Quarter Of LaSalle Police Force Now On Leave After Fatal Shootings
LASALLE, Colo. (CBS4) -- Two of the Town of LaSalle's eight full-time police officers are now on leave following their involvement in fatal shootings within the last three weeks.
A second officer was placed on leave Wednesday after firing the shots that killed a 20-year-old man early that morning near the intersection of Highway 85 and Weld County Road 394.
Thursday, a spokesman for the multi-jurisdictional investigative team looking into the incident identified the deceased as Seth Mallard. Online public records show Mallard was an Evans resident.
LaSalle is located about 50 miles northeast of Denver.
Another Lasalle officer was already on leave following the fatal shooting of a driver the night of January 16. That driver turned out to be an off-duty Adams County Sheriff's Office deputy. Conclusions from that event's multi-jurisdictional investigation have not yet been announced.
Details about the run-up to Wednesday morning's fatal shooting are also scarce. What police did confirm is that they responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle at the Lasalle intersection, that the shooting occurred at 2:42 a.m., and that Mallard was pronounced deceased at 3:48 a.m.
Online public records show Mallard sent to prison in September of last year for Aggravated Auto Theft convictions.
Mallard is shown as a registered inmate of the Colorado Department of Corrections, though his status reads "Fugitive Inmate."
The Colorado Department of Corrections told CBS4 that Mallard was released from their custody on December 7 and went to a Weld County community corrections facility.
Lasalle Police Chief Carl Harvey said Thursday his department has received offers from neighboring agencies to help with patrols, but he has turned them down to this point.
Investigators are asking any witnesses to Wednesday's incident to call police.
