Related article:
Colo. deputy fatally shoots man who killed manager in gun battle
By Vanessa Miller
Daily Camera
BOULDER, Colo. — Deputy John Seifert knew he was chasing an armed and dangerous man on the morning of Dec. 30.
He knew the man he was following had shot someone at Eldora Mountain Resort.
What he didn’t know was that the suspect — who later would be identified as Derik Bonestroo, 24, of Nederland — would pull over unexpectedly, lean out his driver’s-side window and fire his weapon.
“The first shot hit my spotlight and sprayed glass in my eyes and all over me,” Seifert told the Camera on Tuesday in his first interview since the shooting.
But pain didn’t register and panic didn’t set in.
“There was not enough time to be afraid consciously,” he said.
Instead, Seifert’s training kicked in, and he cocked his weapon to fire back. Nothing. The weapon didn’t go off. Seifert ducked behind his patrol car and ran through a training drill designed to clear stalled weapons. That worked, and Seifert — who was tucked in a nook beside his open car door — fired back.
In total, Bonestroo shot 27 times at Seifert, who was not injured. The deputy returned at least 22 rounds and hit Bonestroo at least seven times — in the upper left shoulder blade, right cheek, left ear and back of his head. But the Boulder County Coroner’s Office later determined Bonestroo died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Learning his bullet didn’t take Bonestroo’s life didn’t change much about Seifert’s recovery process, he said. He still felt emotionally spent after the gunbattle.
“It was more of a roller-coaster than a certain feeling,” he said.
Last week, Seifert was cleared by the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office of any wrongdoing in the shooting. Sheriff Joe Pelle on Tuesday praised Seifert’s quick thinking and calm demeanor that, he said, might have saved many lives.
“John performed marvelously,” Pelle said. “It’s scary to think where he could have gone next.”
Seifert, a firearms instructor and a member of the Boulder County SWAT team, will return to work Sunday. He’ll receive a “medal of valor” next week in a private ceremony with his peers. In November, Seifert will be honored publicly at the Sheriff’s Office’s annual awards banquet.
‘Anxious to get back’
Seifert said he just wants to get back to work.
The gunfight that could have taken his life at age 46 hasn’t turned off the once-retail-store owner to law enforcement. Rather, Seifert said, he’s “quite anxious to get back” after surviving the closest call in his 6½-year law-enforcement career.
Seifert got into the business after selling his retail store and attending a law-enforcement academy.
“I really liked it,” he said. “In every aspect of law enforcement, you’re helping someone ... . When people call 911, they have a need, and it’s nice to help those people.”
Seifert said that during the gunbattle, he stayed focused on the passersby and potential victims living in the area.
“Had he escaped,” he said, “there were numerous opportunities to commit more violence.”
As his mind raced with thoughts of the man who was trying to take his life, Seifert said, he realized cars still were driving past the shootout on Colo. 119 and the motorists were in danger of being hit by a stray bullet.
“I didn’t like my position,” Seifert said, explaining that he couldn’t see his target well either. “So I went to the back of my vehicle.”
From that new angle, Seifert said, bullets were flying to the side of the road rather than across it. Seifert was shooting through Bonestroo’s rear window, aiming toward the driver’s seat.
“I saw his rear brake lights flash, so I fired a couple more shots,” he said.
As Seifert waited for cover officers to arrive, he said, his eyes watered. Shock still was protecting his emotions. It was the gunshot-shattered glass that brought his tears, he said.
‘They were concerned about me’
It wasn’t until he went home that evening that Seifert learned Bonestroo had killed Eldora general manager Brian Mahon — someone he had known for years. In the weeks following the killing, Seifert said, he has seen Mahon’s wife on a few occasions.
Rather than talking about the man who took Mahon’s life and nearly took Seifert’s, he said, “We just shared hugs.”
Seifert said he also has been contacted by Bonestroo’s family.
“They were concerned about me,” he said. “It was surprising, but very much appreciated. ... I sent a message that I feel very sorry for their family, and I expressed my condolences to them.”
The shootout, Seifert said, has been a lesson to him on the importance of training.
And, he said, he already has talked to a gunsmith about figuring out what went wrong with his weapon that day. Seifert said, however, that he suspects it was “operator error” that caused the gun to jam.
“But it worked when it had to,” Sheriff Pelle said.
Copyright 2009 Daily Camera