Public communication was sporadic in the hours following Monday’s officer-involved shooting at the Glenwood Meadows Shopping Center.
Glenwood Springs police officers patrolling the area recognized a suspect with an outstanding felony warrant related to firearms charges, approached him, and saw him pull out a weapon, according to Chief of Police Joseph Deras. The officers retreated and one fired shots at the individual, who later died on the scene.
The suspect was identified Wednesday by the Garfield County Coroner’s office as Richard Grande, a 55-year-old male known by local law enforcement to live in his vehicle in and around the Glenwood Springs area.
Hours after the incident, business owners and patrons were still unclear if the scene was safe, since rumors were spreading that there was an active shooter in the parking lot. Some shoppers were held in Marshalls for two hours before they were released.
Gentiana Sundeen is a part-owner of Zheng Asian Bistro, one of a few locally owned businesses in the Glenwood Meadows Shopping Center, who was upset that she had not received any information from local officials.
“You know, I get alerts saying there's a heavy thunderstorm, or a rain squall coming, or exit 116 is closed due to an accident. … I really felt that there should have been a [Garfield County] alert.”
According to Tom Holman, 911 operations manager for Garfield County Emergency Communications Authority, dispatchers attempted to send out an alert to subscribers of its GCECA Alert System, but no one received the message because of a clerical error.
Those who had the ReachWell app, which Garfield County uses to deliver emergency messages in different languages, received an alert to “shelter in place” roughly 15 minutes after shots were fired.
A few hours after the incident, the Glenwood Springs Police Department posted a short message on its Facebook page, saying "there was a violent event, the scene is secure, there are no further threats to the public."
Garfield County’s dispatch center is able to send alerts to anyone with a cell phone in a given radius using the Integrated Public Awareness Warning System (IPAWS), but Holman said whoever was on duty at the time did not employ this tool, likely because they were overwhelmed with other responsibilities.
In theory, the software would be able to alert a local resident, or someone visiting or driving through Garfield County from out-of-state.
Sundeen understood that the public was not privy to all of the details about the shooting, but she said any sort of communication could have eased her fears.
"I just I felt sick to my stomach and very nervous, and I think it was because I was just looking at how many kids were out of school at Labor Day sales."
In response to questions about communication protocols during public safety threats, the Glenwood Springs Police Department and the City of Glenwood Springs said they can’t predict all circumstances.
However, they work together with other local agencies to disseminate information during emergencies.
Bryana Starbuck, Glenwood Springs’ public information officer, said, “Each incident is unique. Information is shared once it has been verified with the priority on safety first and then communicating with individuals directly involved.”
