Boulder police have identified the SWAT officer who shot and killed a suspected bomber Monday as Matt DeLaria, a corporal with the University of Colorado Police Department.
DeLaria was one of a large number of SWAT officers brought into Boulder Community Hospital on Monday morning after Terrance Baughman, 32, threatened to blow himself up with a homemade bomb inside the hospital’s emergency-room entrance.
Police negotiated with Baughman for four hours before Baughman attempted to walk deeper into the hospital. Police initially shot him with bean bags and hard-rubber, nonlethal bullets to stop him. When that failed, commanders gave the go ahead to DeLaria to kill Baughman with a .308 caliber sniper rifle. DeLaria fired one shot from 30 yards away, hitting Baughman in the chest, police said.
Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner said Monday evening that he hadn’t spoken with DeLaria but that all SWAT officers are trained to shoot to kill once the decision is made to use lethal rounds.
Beckner said he had no problems with the conduct of the SWAT team and its capture of Baughman.
“We have rules of engagement for incidents like this, and they were followed to the letter,” Beckner said.
DeLaria has been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, which is standard procedure.
DeLaria has been a member of the Boulder SWAT team since 2002. The unit is composed of officers from a number of Boulder County police departments, as well as members of the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.
DeLaria is a firearms instructor and an instructor for the CU Police Department’s Rapid Emergency Deployment Team.
After Baughman was shot around 1:30 p.m., he was taken into the hospital’s emergency room a few yards away, then into surgery, where doctors attempted to save his life. He emerged from surgery around 4:30 p.m. Monday in critical condition, then died around 8:30 p.m.
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
