A funeral service for fallen Adams County Deputy Heath Gumm will be held Friday at a church in Lafayette.
The service will begin at 11 a.m. at Flatirons Community Church, 355 West South Boulder Road, Lafayette, according to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office’s website. However, the sheriff’s office and the Gumm family have not determined whether the funeral will be open to the public, said Julie Brooks, a spokeswoman for the group of law enforcement agencies planning the funeral.
Plans also have not been formalized for a funeral procession where the public could pay their respects, Brooks said.
Gumm was killed Wednesday night after he was shot by a suspect who was wanted for questioning about a dispute near a liquor store outside of Thornton. Gumm had chased Dreion Martise Dearing, 22, into a backyard and was shot multiple times in the chest during the confrontation, Adams County authorities have said. Dearing is being held in connection with three murder charges and a burglary charge.
Gumm joined the sheriff’s department in 2012 where he served in the detention facility. In 2013, he transferred to the patrol division. It was during training for being a patrol officer that he and Deputy Dustin Ball earned the joint nickname “Gummball,” according to the sheriff’s office Facebook page.
The two leaned on each other to get through training, and supervisors gave them the nickname because they were always together. The nickname is a reminder of the trust deputies have between each other, the Facebook post said.
“It was a pleasure to experience this with one of the greatest men I’ve ever know,” Ball said on Facebook. “He knew that I had his back and that he had mine.”
In lieu of flowers, the Gumm family has asked that donations be made to Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation
Cards for the family can be delivered to the Adams County Sheriff’s Substation at 4201 E. 72nd Ave. Commerce City or to its headquarters at 332 N. 19th Ave. Brighton.
