Bio & Incident Details
Age: 31
Tour: 5 years
Badge # 208
Cause: Gunfire
Incident Date: 12/27/1973
Weapon: Officer's handgun
Suspect: Case never solved
· Leave a Reflection
· Add to My Heroes
· Update this memorial
Share this memorial:
Patrolman Thomas Carpenter was shot and killed with his own weapon after being abducted while on patrol.
He had stopped a vehicle at Broadway and U.S. 36 in Denver and became engaged in a struggle with the driver. The suspect gained control of Patrolman Carpenter's handgun and forced him to drive to another location. At approximately 1000 hours, Patrolman Carpenter radioed in his position as being on I-70 and Havana which was out of his assigned area. He was found a short time later in his patrol car in Montbello with four gunshot wounds in his back. The suspect had shot him from the back seat of the patrol car as he sat in the driver's seat.
The two prime suspects were shot and killed in an unrelated event several years later. No suspects have ever been apprehended in connection with Patrolman Carpenter's death.
Patrolman Carpenter had been employed with the Colorado State Patrol for over five years and is survived by his wife, daughter, and two sons.
