GREELEY, Colo., Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A Colorado officer killed after a car chase was shot with his own gun, Weld County Sheriff John Cooke said Wednesday.
Deputy Sam Brownlee, 43, was killed in Evans, Colo., near Greeley, Tuesday morning by reputed gang member Reuben Reyes, 20, authorities said.
"After the suspect's car was stopped," Cooke told the Greeley Tribune, "he was removed from the car and there was a struggle. They were wrestling on the ground when the suspect got Sam's gun and shot him three times -- twice in the chest and once in the head."
Officers at the scene shot Reyes and performed CPR on Brownlee. Both were taken to North Colorado Medical Center, where they died later.
Reyes was on probation on a felony menacing charge in Morgan County, the Denver Post reported.
Brownlee, of Greeley, was a five-year veteran of the sheriff's office.
The incident began in Fort Morgan at 9:45 a.m., when a woman reported that a man she knew had stolen her car. "Stop sticks" put down by the Colorado State Patrol punctured the stolen car's tires in Evans, bringing the chase to a close.
