The man shot dead by Thornton police early Wednesday was a longtime American Airlines baggage handler who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2004, his son said.
“He was a hardworking man,” Daniel Mason said of his father, Clint Mason, 45, who was shot outside the Thornton home he shared with a roommate.
Daniel Mason, 23, said his father had worked for American Airlines in Albuquerque, Chicago and most recently Denver.
Daniel Mason said his dad took pride in his work.
After his parents divorced more than 13 years ago, Daniel Mason and his sister would fly from Albuquerque to Chicago every summer to spend two weeks with their dad.
Clint Mason remarried, but about five years ago, he divorced. Daniel Mason said his father’s psychological problems made the marriage tough. “His wife couldn’t take all the changes,” he said of his father’s mood swings.
According to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records, Clint Mason was arrested in Brighton in January 2005 for disorderly conduct. In August 2005, he pleaded guilty to reckless driving in Greeley.
Although Daniel Mason recently moved to Denver, he said he had not spoken to his father since 2004.
Police say Clint Mason ransacked his roommate’s home in the 11600 block of Steele Street and stole his van Wednesday. When Mason returned to the house, he confronted police officers who had responded to the roommate’s 911 call reporting an intruder.
Police said Mason approached the homeowner and officers, grabbed a knife he was carrying and refused commands to “stop” and “get on the ground.”
One officer fired a Taser, and a second officer then fired his weapon.
The Adams County coroner said in a statement Thursday afternoon that an autopsy revealed Mason died of “multiple gunshot wounds.”
Thornton police spokesman Matt Barnes said Thursday that as Mason approached the owner of the home and two officers standing outside, he reached down and placed his hand on the knife, which was in a sheath. Barnes said he did not know whether Mason unsnapped the sheath, as was reported by investigators Wednesday.
Barnes said the roommate was sleeping when he heard someone trashing the house. The homeowner originally reported that an unknown intruder was inside, but he later realized it was Mason.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
