A 30-year-old Platteville man was shot and killed in the trailer park where he lived Wednesday morning after eluding local police.
Matthew Lucas Herrera was reportedly sitting in his car in front of his mobile home when a Platteville police officer caught up to him after a 20-minute chase, said Weld County Undersheriff Margie Martinez. Police said the officer got out of his cruiser and told Herrera to get out of his car, but Herrera refused and then drove at the officer. The officer opened fire, hitting Herrera numerous times. His father, Gilbert Herrera, told 9News his son was hit six times in the barrage.
“They took the love of my life,” Crystal Eggleston, who lived with Herrera in the trailer park, told 9News. “I told them he didn’t have a gun.”
Following standard procedure, the officer will be on leave while outside law enforcement agencies investigate the shooting, officials said.
Martinez said Platteville police had previous run-ins with Herrera and knew who they were looking for when they approached the car in the Valley Village Mobile Home Court in the 700 block of Grand Avenue. Howard Pankratz, The Denver Post
