Police Officer Gordon Beesley

Officer: Arvada Police Department, Police Officer Gordon Beesley

Date: 6/21/2021                      Location: Arvada, CO           FACTORS (1,2,4,7,15)6?

Perpetrator(s) Involved: Ronald Troyke

Criminal Activity History/Involved: Yes, Troyke had previous criminal convictions for assault and driving while impaired./Yes, armed with a shotgun in public, Troyke ambushed an officer that was walking in the opposite direction away from him.

Mental Illness: Yes, Troyke’s brother contacted police for a welfare check mere minutes earlier that day, concerned Troyke was going to “do something crazy.” A document written by Troyke and discovered after the shooting including the following statements by him, “My goal today is to kill Arvada PD officers”, “Hundreds of you pigs should be killed daily”, and “I just hope I don’t die without killing any of you pigs.”

Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown./None stated.

Race/Sex/Age: White/Male/59

What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At approximately 1:31 p.m. on June 21, 2021, Officer Beesley responded to a 911 call of a suspicious person in the area.

Actions taken by subject toward police: While Officer Beesley was walking with his back to him, Troyke chased after him, yelled out to him, and then when the officer turned around – shot him twice with his shotgun killing him. Troyke then shot at other patrol cars in the area and went back to his vehicle and switched the shotgun for an AR-15 rifle.

Reactions by the police: A Good Samaritan, Johnny Hurley observed Troyke’s shooting spree and shot him dead.

How murdered? Officer Beesley was ambushed and shot from behind while walking around looking for the subject of a 911 call about a suspicious person.

What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? Nothing, Officer Beesley had no reason to believe the person who called out to him, causing him to turn, was armed and intended him harm.

Would the officer have been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? No, Officer Beesley was ambushed and never had the chance to even attempt to defend himself.

Outcome for the cop-killer: Troyke was justifiably shot dead by heroic Good Samaritan, Johnny Hurley.

Miscellaneous: Tragically, after Hurley shot Troyke, he picked up his AR-15 and was then shot by an officer who came upon the scene and mistook him for the shooter.