Pueblo man shot, killed by police identified; one officer remains on paid leave

A man who was shot and killed by police during an incident at an RV park April 17 has been identified.

Ronald James Courtney, 61, of Pueblo, died from a gunshot wound sustained during an incident involving Pueblo police officers, according to a Wednesday social media post from Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter.

Pueblo police responded to reports of animal cruelty at Fort's RV Park in the 3000 block of South Lake Avenue around 2 p.m. April 17. Police confronted the suspect and informed him they had a warrant for his arrest for failure to appear in court on a DUI case out of Alamosa County, according to Pueblo police spokesperson Sgt. Frank Ortega.

"When police attempted to place the suspect under arrest the suspect pulled a firearm from his pocket and an officer shot in response to the threat," Pueblo police officials said in a news release following the shooting.

The suspect was taken to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries. No police officers were injured during the shooting.

The dog that was the subject of the initial animal cruelty call is "in good condition," Ortega told the Chieftain.

One officer remains on paid leave pending an investigation by the 10th Judicial District's Critical Incident Response Team. The identity of the officer has not been released, Ortega said.

When the officer does return to work, Ortega said a wellness program allows officers to gradually transition back into patrol duty by first working in the office of an area of the department that interests them.

Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via X, formerly Twitter, at twitter.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo man shot by police identified; one officer remains on leave