Jeffco SWAT sergeant responded to Evergreen school shooting while drunk, records show

A Jefferson County Sheriff s SWAT sergeant responded to a shooting at Evergreen High School in September while drunk according to an internal assessment the agency conducted Former sergeant Anthony Hamilton communicated deputies he had started drinking at about a m the day of the shooting and had maybe nine or beers before arriving at the school Hamilton was off duty at the time but decided to respond anyway On Sept at about p m -year-old Desmond Holly attacked Evergreen High School shooting two students before turning his gun on himself Holly died and the other two students were wounded Deputies responded right away but Hamilton arrived at the scene about an hour late according to investigative documents obtained by The Denver Post In a series of interviews fellow first responders shared that Hamilton appeared intoxicated in the way he walked and that he had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol He was wearing sunglasses inside and drinking coffee during an atypical time they released When he arrived Hamilton directed a unit to begin randomly clearing rooms that weren t part of his assignment Fellow deputies narrated investigators Hamilton was acting strange and checked out and was actively avoiding other first responders Hamilton s commander noted that he was surprised to see Hamilton at the scene that day because the sergeant had in the last few days requested to be offline for a sparse days to take care of family issues according to a summary of the analysis Hamilton initially denied that he had anything to drink the day of the shooting but admitted to doing so after more of the first responders disclosed smelling alcohol on his breath Hamilton narrated leaders he had decided to respond because the school shooting was pretty major and he knew his club would need help He declared that was the wrong decision stating That was the reason why and I regret minimal things in my life more ' according to the investigative documents Related Articles Colorado s teens shouldn t have to be heroes during mass shootings but they are Editorial Ralston Valley trainee arrested in Snapchat threat communicated hours after Evergreen shooting Matthew Silverstone shot twice at Evergreen High School circulated from hospital FBI was working to identify Evergreen High School shooter at time of attack sheriff says Don t overlook Hamas role in the destruction of Gaza Letters He announced he had gone to bed at about or a m the night before and started drinking pretty much right away when he woke up at about a m He estimated his last drink was at a m In an emailed announcement a spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff s Office commented following the internal inquiry Hamilton resigned in lieu of termination The Evergreen High School shooting was a tragic event for our society and we are proud of the professionalism and dedication shown by the deputies and partner agencies who responded that day Mark Techmeyer wrote During the aftermath of the development our agency learned that a sergeant on the SWAT Band who responded to the scene while off duty was under the influence of alcohol This conduct falls far outside the standards and expectations of the Sheriff s Office The internal review began nearly two weeks after the matter and was first released by Denver Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter