Former Fort Morgan City Manger Patrick Merrill led police on a low-speed chase through Adams County Friday morning, before he apparently shot and killed himself, police say.
The incident happened two days after Merrill appeared in court in connection with a child pornography summons.
At 5:23 a.m., a Morgan County Sheriff’s deputy contacted Brighton police, and requested a wellness check on 48-year-old Merrill, according to a news release from the Brighton Police Department.
The deputy was planning to speak with Merrill, who was staying at a Comfort Inn in Brighton, later that day.
When officers arrived at the hotel, Merrill was gone. A woman who had been at the hotel with Merrill, told officers he had left, and gave police his cell phone number.
Police called Merrill and were able to locate his truck.
Merrill refused to stop when police attempted to pull him over. Police remained on the phone with Merrill as they continued to follow him for about 25 minutes at speeds of 40 mph or less.
Merrill then drove behind a local business near U.S. Highway 85 and 124th Avenue.
After several minutes, officers approached the truck but got no response from Merrill. When officers arrived at the truck, they found Merrill unresponsive with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot would, police said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Later that day, the Adams County Coroner’s office released Merrill’s name. Official manner and cause of death will be released pending an autopsy.
In October 2010, Merrill was issued a summons for sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography, according to court records.
Merrill appeared in court on Wednesday.
In mid-January, Merrill received a severance settlement of $77,721 from the city of Fort Morgan when he was put on leave for undisclosed reasons, The Fort Morgan Times reported.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
The Fort Morgan Times contributed to this report
