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Garco deputies disarm, arrest man

Pete Fowler
Glenwood Springs correspondent
Aspen, CO Colorado

BATTLEMENT MESA ” Garfield County sheriff’s deputies disarmed what they identified as a suicidal man Thursday morning by shooting him with three bean-bag rounds in the leg, according the sheriff’s office.

Deputies arrested Raymond Powell, 49, on charges of harassment, domestic violence, false imprisonment and unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon.

Around 9:11 a.m., deputies responded to a call of a suicidal party who had left a Battlement Mesa residence on foot with a gun. They contacted Powell on Stone Quarry Road. He refused to comply with any instructions.



“As Powell’s behavior continued to escalate and with several attempts to elude deputies in a residential neighborhood with the weapon, deputies fired the three less-lethal rounds into Powell’s leg,” a news release stated.

Deputies removed a fully loaded Ruger 357 Magnum from Powell’s waistband before placing him under arrest.




According to Community Relations Deputy Tanny McGinnis, there was a domestic violence incident taking place between the previous night and Thursday morning. Powell would not let a woman at the residence leave.

Powell refused EMT and medical assistance on the scene, but his injuries appeared to be minor. Deputies transported to the Grand River Medical Center. The incident is being reviewed by the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office Professional Standards Investigator, the release stated.

Sheriff Lou Vallario said this was an excellent example of how less-lethal options for law enforcement can prevent a fatal outcome.

“I thought it was a huge success,” he said, adding that the other option in this situation would have been a possible shootout that could have seriously injured or killed Powell or the deputies at the scene.