By Heath Urie
Daily Camera
BOULDER, Colo. — Perrin Dake and his 17-year-old daughter, Tanya, were traveling on Colo. 119 just outside of Nederland to go skiing early Dec. 30 when a man stopped his car abruptly in front of them.
A sheriff’s SUV, a second behind, then wedged itself between the sedan and Dake’s Volvo. That’s when a highway gunbattle started, and Derik A. Bonestroo -- who was trying to escape in his Infiniti sedan after shooting 49-year-old Eldora Mountain Resort general manager Brian Mahon to death at the ski area -- ended up dead in a shootout with a deputy.
“It was probably the most surreal moment of my life,” said Dake, 53, who splits his time between Nederland and Boulder.
John Seifert, the Boulder County sheriff’s deputy who may have saved the Dakes and others from what officials have said was Bonestroo’s random violence, was cleared of any wrongdoing Wednesday.
He is being called a hero by officials and witnesses alike.
Seifert will remain on paid administrative leave until the end of the month while he deals with post-traumatic stress issues, sheriff’s officials said.
“He was nothing short of fabulous,” Dake said.
Dake, who was a close friend of the slain manager and is also a friend of the deputy, said he forced his daughter to the floor of the Volvo and tried to wedge himself behind a reinforced part of the car until the shooting stopped.
“It’s scary to be so close to a gun going off that you can see the muzzle fire, you can see the smoke, you can hear the noise, you can feel the percussion against your chest and they’re all happening at the same time,” Dake recalled. “The whole thing was over in 20 seconds.”
In that brief time, he said, the deputy went from his “good friend to a hero.”
“Had John not stopped when he did, this could have been a much worse situation,” Dake said. "(Bonestroo) could have taken my daughter and myself into a hostage situation. He was looking for an advantage, and maybe my daughter and I were it.”
Seifert stopped Bonestroo at 7:33 a.m. while the gunman was trying to escape down Colo. 119 after the resort shooting.
He hit Bonestroo with at least seven bullets but did not fire the shot that killed him, according to the Coroner’s Office. Bonestroo shot himself in the head during the gunfight.
Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett issued an official letter Wednesday clearing Seifert, 46, from any criminal wrongdoing in the shootout.
“Seifert was justified in his use of deadly force” because the suspect opened fire at him, Garnett said.
“It really shows law enforcement in Boulder County at its absolute best,” Garnett said.
In the letter delivered Wednesday to Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle, Garnett wrote that Seifert’s use of force was justified because: “He reasonably believed that it was necessary to defend himself and third persons from what was, in fact, the application of potentially deadly force by Derik Bonestroo.”
Garnett wrote that he partially based his decision on Seifert’s account, saying the deputy told investigators following the shooting along Colo. 119, “I thought I was going to get shot.”
Later, the deputy reported, “I was worried that he was re-loading; was concerned if he charged me, I wouldn’t have alot of cover.”
The deputy was aware, Garnett said, that civilian traffic was quickly approaching the scene from both sides.
“I was concerned he could take hostages or he could just run and be a danger,” Seifert was quoted as saying in the letter. “I was concerned he was going to shoot those people driving by.”
Pelle said Wednesday that he has also reviewed the shooting investigation and has concluded that Seifert acted within the department’s use-of-force policy.
“I am proud of our officer,” Pelle said. “I do believe that if this guy had continued on, it’s hard to predict how many more people would have been hurt.”
According to a summary of the investigative report, officers at the scene of the highway shootout recovered a host of weapons from Bonestroo’s bullet-riddled sedan -- including a fully loaded .357-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver, a .44-caliber revolver, a 10mm Glock pistol and several magazines full of ammunition.
There were two empty 15-round Glock magazines and at least 20 spent bullet casings found near the driver’s-side door.
Police also found a bloody ax with cat hair on it, religious books and several knives.
“This guy was armed to the teeth,” Pelle said. “It appeared he was on some sort of mission. I don’t know what would have happened if he had escaped.”
The official report states that Seifert immediately removed his department-issued AR-15 assault rifle from its car holster after receiving a call about the shooting at Eldora.
When the confrontation began along the mountain highway, Seifert’s weapon jammed. The report states that the deputy -- a four-year veteran of the office, an experienced firearms instructor and a member of the Boulder County SWAT team -- performed a “failure drill” to clear the jam while he was being fired at.
“He knew exactly what to do and not to panic,” Pelle said.
Investigators found that Bonestroo fired at least 27 rounds at Seifert, striking the patrol car at least 11 times. Seifert fired at least 22 rounds, hitting the Infiniti at least 10 times and hitting Bonestroo at least seven times.
Pelle said he’s grateful the department decided several years ago to equip all patrol vehicles with assault rifles, high-capacity magazines and better body armor.
He said Seifert will be awarded the department’s Medal of Valor for “exhibiting extreme bravery in the face of extreme danger.”
Copyright 2009 Daily Camera