WASHINGTON – Attorney General Janet Reno said Wednesday the federal government will do its part to help local authorities catch the three men who killed one Cortez police officer and wounded two Montezuma County sheriff’s deputies Friday.

Reno, one of several speakers at a hearing on law enforcement on Indian lands, said she would "keep on top of this issue and would aid in whatever way possible."

Reno said FBI SWAT teams are on the ground in the area and the agent in charge of the manhunt is familiar with the rugged terrain.

Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., a former police officer and chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs, talked about the killing at the hearing.

Cortez Police Officer Dale Claxton, 45, was killed when he stopped three men on County Road 27 in Cortez. The men had stolen a water truck. The men opened fire on the officer, killing him.

"They didn’t even give him time to get out of his car," Campbell said. "He was still calling in the license plates."

The three fugitives came up behind Cortez officer Jason Bishop, 25, in a stolen flatbed truck and before Bishop could evade them, a bullet struck him in the head. The officer is out of the hospital, although a bullet fragment still remains in his head.

The third officer injured, Todd Martin, 35, is listed in stable condition at Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez, after Saturday’s surgery to repair his left elbow and a shattered kneecap.

Warrants were issued Wednesday for Robert Mason and Jason McVean, both 26, of Durango, and Alan "Monte" Pilon, 30, of Dove Creek..

Campbell urged Reno to give whatever aid possible to "catch the cold-blooded killers" recently sponsored a bill that was sent to the White House for the president’s signature, that would allow officers additional funding for bullet-proof vests through grants from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. State, local and tribal governments can purchase the armor and priority grants will be given to officers in higher-crime level cities.

Campbell urged Reno to talk about the bill, saying "if you have any influence in the White House, please ask him to sign the bill."

In honor of the slain officer Claxton, Campbell announced he will be preparing the "Dale Claxton Bulletproof Glass Police Protection Act of 1998" to provide matching federal grants to law enforcement agencies for the purchase of bullet-proof glass windshields for police cruisers. If Claxton’s vehicle had the feature, Campbell said he might be alive.