Manitou Springs Police Department, Colorado
End of Watch: Thursday, December 18, 1975
Age: 28
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: December 18, 1975
Weapon Used: Handgun; .22 caliber
Suspect Info: Case remains unsolved
Detective Sergeant Donald Laabs was shot and killed while returning home in his cruiser. Witnesses observed him exit the highway in the direction he would normally travel home.
Approximately two hours later he was found shot to death in his police vehicle in the southbound lanes of I-25, near Arvada Street, in Colorado Springs. He had been shot eight times with a .22 caliber handgun.
Sgt. Laabs,who worked as an undercover narcotics officer, was also a U.S. Army veteran. He was survived by his wife and two young sons.
On the day of his death he had been promoted to detective sergeant in the Manitou Springs Police Department.