Weld County Sheriff's Office, Colorado
End of Watch: Tuesday, December 31, 1940
Age: 45
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 31, 1940
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Shot and killed
Deputy Earl Bucher was shot and killed on New Year's Eve while responding to the scene of a domestic disturbance near Johnstown in which a man had just shot his wife.
As Deputy Bucher approached the house around 12 a.m. just south of current Road 36 and Road 13, the man stuck a shotgun out of the door and shot him in the head.
The suspect then stole Deputy Bucher's gun and pinned Deputy Bucher's badge onto his own clothing. He was still wearing the badge when he was located by a posse of nearly a dozen officers and a dozen more civilians in a nearby shanty. The man was shot and killed by the posse in a shootout that lasted more than one hour.
Deputy Belcher was a WWI Army veteran. He was survived by his wife, his parents, his brother, and his sister.