Fremont County Sheriff's Office, Colorado
End of Watch: Friday, September 28, 2001
Age: 26
Tour of Duty: 4 years
Badge Number: 305
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: September 28, 2001
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Deputy Sheriff Jason Schwartz was shot and killed while transporting two prisoners to jail.
The two prisoners, who were twin brothers, had just been arrested during a call of a dog being shot. Deputy Schwartz placed one of the suspects into his patrol after searching him. Another deputy placed the second suspect in the patrol car, but failed to search him. One of the two possessed two handguns and a handcuff key and was able to free himself. Without warning, the suspects shot Deputy Schwartz in the back of the head four times through a gap in the patrol car's cage.
The suspects then pulled Deputy Schwartz's body from the vehicle and shot him eight more times before fleeing. During the next day, the killers shot at 17 different officers, wounding three of them, in different incidents while they were on the run. They were apprehended the following day. Both killers were sentenced to life after making a plea bargain.
Deputy Schwartz had served with the Fremont County Sheriff's Department for one year and had served in law enforcement for four years. He is survived by his wife, two sons, and his mother.