Cortez residents close shops, lock doors
Copyright © 1998 The Durango Herald. All rights reserved.
Comfort

Herald/Jerry McBride

LORI WATKINS, Cortez Search and Rescue dispatcher, consoles Joey Chavez, Montezuma County sheriff’s deputy, Friday following a shooting that killed Cortez police officer Dale Claxton.

May 30, 1998

By Amy Maestas
Herald Staff Writer

The killing of a police officer Friday scared many Cortez residents into clearing the streets and locking themselves indoors.

The fear spread Friday night across the southwest corner of Colorado into Utah, where three gunmen were believed to remain at large.

News of the shooting quickly crossed the border into Monticello, Utah, a town of 1,800 people. Business owners there said they were mystified that dangerous criminals were at large in deep canyons east of town. Many feared for the safety of high-school students who planned celebrations Friday night in honor of graduation.

Apprehension set in Friday morning, when three suspects opened fire on a Cortez police officer and two Montezuma County sheriff’s deputies who were in pursuit. The news spread rapidly through Cortez as loud sirens blared through Main Street. Residents with police scanners tuned into local channels to hear the latest on the high-speed chase that wound through McElmo Canyon, into Utah and back into Colorado.

"It was pretty scary," said Brenda Ashby, owner of Hot Bagel Bakery in Cortez. "We just kept seeing all these cop cars go by."

Ashby said as soon as residents heard about the shooting, Main Street was cleared of cars as people took shelter in their homes and businesses.

She said by Friday afternoon, people were beginning to drive back downtown and resume their activities.

"It’s weird because you never expect it to happen, especially not in sleepy little Cortez," Ashby said.

Citizens State Bank, on Main Street, locked its doors and stationed an employee in front to let customers in as they arrived. Maxine Kirk, assistant vice president, said the bank locked its doors to keep its employees and customers safe.

"We were told perhaps these fellows were headed back into town," she said.

Cortez City Manager Bill Ray said the police didn’t ask any businesses to shut down or lock their doors, but several people opted to.

On the last day of the school year the Cortez School District took extra precautions to keep students safe.

Some students looking forward to their official summer kick off at noon had a slight delay. Superintendent Bill Thompson said students who lived north of Cortez were detained at the school and buses to those neighborhoods did not run.

Thompson said police told the district that the armed gunmen were presumed to be somewhere north of town.

Police requested that students be detained. Students who lived in town were released to walk home, Thompson said.

Durango resident Jim Fruit was still shaken Friday evening after hearing the gunshots. Fruit was working on a house in Cortez about one block from where the gunmen shot two Montezuma sheriff’s deputies, Jason Bishop and Todd Martin.

Fruit said he was working on the roof of the house when he heard sirens. He looked up and saw a truck being chased by a fleet of speeding patrol cars.

"Then I heard gunshots. The first ones were all the same caliber, and then I heard more shots from a larger caliber," Fruit said. "I saw some guy lying in the road and said there was someone down."

The shooting also incited an outpouring of support from Durango and Cortez. A clergyman and Durango psychologist Dave Guy were offering counseling to victims and law enforcement.

Marcey Cummins, Southwest Memorial Hospital system leader, said the hospital is preparing a disaster plan in case there are more victims.

"The whole community has been wonderful," she said. "People are calling wanting to know if they can donate blood. These sorts of things ... bring out the best in the community."

(Herald Staff Writer Missy Votel and Herald Staff Photographer Alex Dorgan-Ross contributed to this story.)

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