A tragedy of immense proportions: a state trooper killed by a drunk driver, a decorated Army colonel. A life lost and more lives destroyed.

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 12:53:42 -0500

I cannot count the number of drunk drivers I arrested during my law enforcement career.
I cannot count the number of fatal accidents I investigated that involved drunk drivers.
I cannot count the number of times I heard a drunk driver respond, "Just two beers."
I cannot count the number of lives lost nor the families destroyed by drunk drivers.

Though I am retired now, I feel as if my life has been diminished yet again by the senselessness of drunk driving. Our nation has lost one of its finest. A baby girl has lost her mother. Chances are very likely that another family will lose a father to a long prison sentence. His life has been irrevocably altered.........and not for the good. Why? Alcohol. Sports and alcohol. Driving and alcohol. And, inevitably.........death because of alcohol.

When will people ever learn? When will people take responsibility for drunk friends and stop them from driving? When will people learn that alcohol kills several times more people in this country annually than guns do? What will it take, what will it take?

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. - A retired Army colonel accused of killing a Colorado State trooper in a hit and run Sunday night, 11/15/15, had been drinking beers before, during, and after the Denver Broncos game, and tearfully blurted out, "I killed a cop" following his arrest, according to court records.

Eric Peter Henderson, 52, of Peyton, Colo., was booked into the Douglas County Jail just before 7 a.m. Monday on investigation of vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a deadly accident, driving under the influence and careless driving causing death. He was being held on $1 million bond, according to court records.

State Trooper Jaimie Jursevics was hit by a white-and-black flatbed truck about 8:50 p.m. Sunday as she stood on the side of southbound Interstate 25 near mile marker 176 in Monument, CO..

Jursevics had parked her patrol car behind another trooper's car to "provide safety" while her colleague completed a crash investigation.

Trooper Jursevics was dispatched to investigate a motorist's report of a drunken driver in the area and she called the reporting motorist to get the location of the suspected DUI vehicle, the affidavit said.

Still on the phone, the witness motorist, who was driving behind the DUI suspect driving the flatbed truck, saw Jursevics up ahead on the roadside and told the trooper the truck was 5 seconds away from her.

The witness said Trooper Jursevics was shining a flashlight toward the ground in the far left lane and it appeared that she was trying to direct the truck to pull over, the affidavit states.

Suddenly, the truck hit Jursevics, her flashlight flew into the air and the witness heard her scream over the phone, the affidavit stated. The witness pulled over and called 911 and the truck kept traveling south.

The trooper who was investigating the earlier crash heard a dispatcher radio about a female trooper being hit by a vehicle. Realizing it was Jursevics, the trooper drove to her location and found her facedown and bleeding in the far-left lane, the affidavit stated. The trooper said Jursevics had no pulse, and an arriving emergency-medical team found she was deceased.

A Palmer Lake police officer spotted the suspect vehicle, the flatbed truck with front-end damage, traveling southbound and turned on his flashing lights, signaling the driver to stop. It took nearly one mile for the truck driver to pull over, the officer reported.

The officer asked the driver, Eric P. Henderson, what happened to the front of his truck, referring to the damage.

"Nothing," replied Henderson, according to the affidavit. The officer reported that Henderson appeared to be under the influence of intoxicating liquor. His eyes were glassy and watering, his speech was slurred, and his movements were slow. A deputy sheriff later reported that the suspect smelled of beer.

The officer told Henderson he was arresting him for DUI and hit and run. He drove the suspect to Castle Rock Adventist Hospital to have his blood drawn for a toxicology test.

At the hospital, Douglas County sheriff's Cpl. Brian Cogil learned that Henderson's passenger, Craig Whitehill, had consented to have his blood drawn. Henderson declined to perform voluntary roadside sobriety maneuvers, the affidavit said.

A blood sample was drawn from Henderson under "exigent circumstances," an exception to the constitutional requirement for a warrant for searches and seizures when officers have cause to believe evidence might be lost or destroyed.

Cogil obtained a search warrant for a second blood draw and showed it to the suspect. But Henderson would not provide a second blood sample until another deputy arrived with a copy of the warrant, the affidavit stated.

At the sheriff's office, Henderson declined to speak with investigators, invoking his constitutional right to have an attorney. When investigators told him the charges he was facing, Henderson "looked very shocked" and asked them to repeat the charges three times, the affidavit said.

As Henderson sat in a recorded interview room, he appeared to be crying and he said aloud, "I killed a cop," the affidavit stated.

Whitehill, the passenger in the truck, said Henderson had driven him to the Broncos game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Whitehill told investigators that they had beers while tailgating in the parking lot, during the game, and after the game. Whitehill estimated that Henderson had a total of about 6 to 7 beers.

As Henderson drove them home, Whitehill said he dozed off in the truck and only woke up when police pulled the truck over. Whitehill initially said he didn't "see, hear or feel anyone get hit with the vehicle."

But it appeared to jog Whitehill's memory when an investigator confronted him about a witness who reported seeing a man outside the truck, looking at its damage.

Whitehill said he was awaked by a "big thump," and then Henderson pulled over on the side of the road and made an abrupt U-turn. Whitehill told the investigator he couldn't say whether Henderson got out of the truck to inspect it, but Whitehill said that he didn't exit the truck.

Henderson has a long and distinguished history of service, records show.

The retired Army colonel was chief of the Operations Division for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Colorado Springs. He retired in 2013, with 27 years of military service, military records show.

He received the Legion of Merit during his retirement ceremony at Peterson Air Force Base on June 7, 2013.

"Henderson is the type of person that people want to follow," said retired Army Brig. Gen. Kurt S. Story at Henderson's retirement ceremony. "A leader has a responsibility to the group, and Eric never loses sight of that. A leader has a responsibility to himself, and Eric doesn't ever lose sight of that. A leader has a responsibility to the community -- in this case the larger Army enterprise -- our nation. Eric never lost sight of that. And lastly a leader has an obligation to ethics and morality -- to our code, and Eric never lost sight of that. Eric is a great American. I'm proud of him, and proud to have served with him."

Since his retirement, he has worked as a military contractor for Colorado Professional Resources. According to its website, he is a program manager and touts that he was "one of the Army’s first twelve officers selected for the Space Operations Officer career field. He is both a pioneer and a subject matter expert in the military applications of Space and Missile Defense for the US Army, the Joint Community, and our nation’s allies. He is an integrator and operator of numerous space and missile defense operations systems."

Henderson is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning.