Pueblo deputy awarded Purple Heart for injuries suffered during shooting of Richard Ward
Deputy Charles McWhorter received a Purple Heart award from the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 17 because of injuries he sustained during a Feb. 22, 2022, incident when he shot Richard Ward three times at short range, killing him. Ward was picking his brother up from school at Liberty Point Middle School in Pueblo West.
McWhorter received the award just days before Ward’s family filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against Pueblo County, McWhorter and other involved deputies in U.S. District Court.
PCSO Public Information Officer Gayle Perez confirmed to the Chieftain that McWhorter received the Purple Heart award because of his service during the 2022 response. Perez declined an interview request with Sheriff David Lucero about the award, citing the pending litigation.
Perez said an internal investigation into McWhorter and Cassandra Gonzales, another deputy at the scene, has been ongoing since Feb. 23, 2022.
More on this case: Pueblo County, sheriff's deputies sued for 2022 fatal shooting outside middle school
The 10th Judicial District Critical Incident Team (CIT) investigated the shooting and released a report, signed by District Attorney Jeff Chostner on Oct. 14, 2022, that concluded McWhorter’s use of force was “justified.”
“Deputy McWhorter had an injury to his face at the bridge of his nose, his right forefinger, his lower back, his right knee, and he reaggravated a previous injury to the middle of his neck,” the report states.
McWhorter was transported to Parkview Hospital after the incident, according to the report.
The 2023 Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office awards ceremony was held at Colorado State University Pueblo on Feb. 17, according to a Facebook post. McWhorter was one of two deputies to receive a Purple Heart award.
McWhorter also received the Medal of Valor award in 2018 because of his response during a 2017 officer-involved shooting in Colorado City. McWhorter and Deputy Charles Roldan were responding to a search for Dennis Flowers, who had an arrest warrant out for a robbery.
Flowers allegedly pointed a gun at McWhorter, according to the CIT report for the incident. Roldan first shot Flowers twice, and then McWhorter shot the man 10 times “until Flowers fell to the ground.”
Roldan and McWhorter’s use of force during the 2017 incident were also found “justified” by Chostner in the CIT report.
Both McWhorter and Roldan received a Medal of Valor because of their response, the “highest decoration of bravery exhibited by public safety officers in the United States,” according to a PCSO webpage.
McWhorter is no longer listed on the current webpage as a recipient of the award, but an archived version of the page shows that his name was still listed as of Nov. 29, 2022.
What others are reading: Ramondo Jones found guilty of first-degree murder in 2020 death of Pueblo foster child
Perez said that McWhorter’s name was removed from the website early Thursday because he has been receiving “targeted threats,” but declined to elaborate.
His plaque was still displayed at the Pueblo County emergency dispatch center when a Chieftain reporter visited on Feb. 23.
What happened in the police shooting of Richard Ward in Pueblo West
Officers were sent to Liberty Point Middle School in Pueblo West on Feb. 22, 2022, on a report that a “suspicious” individual was in the parking lot as students were getting picked up.
Ward allegedly took a brief walk around the parking lot and accidentally entered a stranger's vehicle that was similar to his mother’s before returning to her SUV.
Body-worn camera footage of the incident showed Ward telling McWhorter he was uncomfortable around police because of previous interactions when he claimed officers used excessive force against him.
The situation escalated after McWhorter asked Ward for his identification and if he had any weapons on his person. Ward appeared to put a pill in his mouth, and then McWhorter pulled him out of the rear passenger seat of the vehicle.
A brief physical altercation ensued. McWhorter, and other responding officers, claimed in his interview with the CIT that he thought Ward was reaching for his gun.
McWhorter shot Ward three times in the chest and neck at close range, body camera footage shows. The district attorney's investigation into the shooting determined that Ward was not armed at the time of the shooting, though earlier told responding officers that he may have had a pocket knife.
Anna Lynn Winfrey is a reporter at the Pueblo Chieftain. She can be reached at awinfrey@gannett.com or on Twitter, @annalynnfrey.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo deputy awarded Purple Heart for being injured in Ward shooting
