Countless people stood under the November sun, silently looking onto a parade of hundreds of police cars moving through Littleton.

The moment was a somber celebration of the life of a Golden Police Department officer who was killed while working just a week ago.

A memorial service was held Wednesday for 33-year-old Evan Dunn, who was struck and killed during a crash on Highway 58 around 5 p.m. Nov. 6. 

Prior to the service, the parade moved through Littleton as it transported Dunn to the private funeral held at Mission Hills Church. The procession included 523 first responders and 255 vehicles from 75 different police departments, with Dunn’s family traveling in the middle. 

A Black Hawk helicopter, sending whirling sounds over the silent crowd, led the procession. Dunn flew the helicopters while in the military. 

“I’m just wrecked for the family. I have kids that are in their 30s, just like this young man. It just hits you,” said Lesa Higgins, a woman from Centennial who watched the parade. 

But, in the midst of a tragedy — with Dunn being the first Golden officer to die in the line of duty in the department’s history — the city’s community has banded together, shown by the hundreds of mourning people honoring the officer during the procession.

“Our community is a family. The chief of police is the most amazing guy you’ve ever met,” Sondra Welsh, a Golden denizen, said of the department’s chief, Joe Harvey. “He wants to make sure when his police officers respond to something, they’re being compassionate and showing community love.”

Welsh is a member of the Golden Police Department’s Community Engagement Group, a board of citizens started by Harvey in 2022 that discusses police matters and community outreach with the department.

The Golden native is also a member of multiple other community groups, all helping come together and support the department following the tragedy.

“I’m in the Golden Lions Club. We’re giving $1,000. I’m in the Golden Civic Foundation. We’re giving $10,000,” Welsh said. “So, I think a lot of people are stepping up… Everybody is just really hurting right now.”

A crash and an arrest

Dunn and another Golden officer, Bethany Grusing, were responding to a crash on the highway with other first responders when a man allegedly drove into the crash scene, slamming into a parked truck and pushing it into another car.

Both Dunn and Grusing were hit by the vehicle, getting pinned underneath the car involved in the initial crash they were responding to. Dunn died on impact and Grusing sustained a cheekbone injury.

Two drivers who were involved in the earlier crash were also injured. Both were thrown by the impact and one sustained a skull fracture and brain bleed, according to arrest documents.

Stephen Geer, a 43-year-old Colorado School of Mines mechanical engineering professor, was arrested and booked into the Jefferson County jail on suspicion of vehicular homicide/DUI, two counts of vehicular assault/DUI and driving under the influence, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

Geer was given a $250,000 bond with the condition of pretrial supervision on Nov. 7 and is due back in court on Thursday.

“I know that if it had been me that did it, I don’t know if you’d want to keep living,” Higgins said. “Obviously there’s legal, criminal consequences, but I just can’t imagine what that would do to a person emotionally.”

A community mourns

The significant amount of police officers present at Wednesday’s parade was just a glimpse of the support that Golden’s communities — both within the department and beyond — have for each other.

Mark and Amy Reynolds, for example, just moved to Golden from California in June. They sat on a hill in Littleton to watch the parade. 

“I’m amazed at how much support there is. The memorial in front of the police station is a testament to how everybody feels,” Amy Reynolds said of Dunn’s police vehicle sitting outside the department, draped in flowers and countless notes.

“It’s such a wonderful place,” she said of Golden. “It’s a big town but small town. The sense of community, I absolutely love it.”

“Even though we’re close to Denver, we’re our own small town,” Welsh said. “You go out and see people you know and hug them. We’re just really into community.”

And to the family and friends of the fallen officer, the community sends their open support.

“A lot of police live long, happy lives. But, man, you’re taking a risk when you’re involved in law enforcement,” Higgins said, noting her respect for those that serve. “Words are so inadequate and can really land in a wrong way… I don’t have words, but I am more of a person of action. I just feel like being a presence says a lot.”

“Our hearts are with you,” Amy Reynolds said to the victim’s family and police department.

Mark Reynolds added, looking up toward the cloudless sky: “Thank you for your service.”