4 Sentenced For Injuring Arvada Police Officer With Chlorine Bomb

ARVADA, CO — Four men have now been sentenced for throwing a chlorine bomb at an Arvada police officer. Three of the men were sentenced Thursday, and one was sentenced earlier.

Gavin Beret Dawson, 20; Maxwell Cade McCann, 20; and Braiden John Ulmer, 20, pleaded guilty May 18 to attempted second-degree assault of a peace officer - toxic caustic device, the 1st Judicial District Attorney's Office said. Each defendant received two years of probation. McCann and Dawson were each given 60 days in an alternative sentencing program, and Ulmer received 30 days in the program. Isaac Carl Koch, 20, pleaded guilty in Dec. 9 to conspiracy to possess an explosive/incendiary device, and he was granted a two-year deferred judgement for his sentence.

On April 6, 2019, Arvada police received a call from someone around midnight about a road hazard at 68th Avenue and Beech Street. The officer arrived and saw that street signs had been pulled out of the ground and stacked in the middle of the road, and plastic wrap had been strung across the road, the DA's office said.

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The officer and the person who reported the road hazard started clearing the barricade. A plastic bottle was then thrown and landed near the officer, and the bottle began releasing heavy chlorine gas, the DA's office said. The officer overheard someone swearing at him, and he then became nauseated, lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

Other officers and paramedics arrived, and he was taken to the hospital.

At least seven other explosive devices were detonated in the area, the DA's office said. A Code Red was issued for a one-mile radius in Arvada.

The officer suffered serious pulmonary damage and spent months going to medical appointments, missing work, and he continues to suffer the effects of the chlorine gas, the DA's office said.

“These men set up an ambush for police. When the first Arvada officer arrived to clear away the road hazard, he was a fixed target for their toxic chemical bombs,” 1st Judicial District Attorney Pete Weir said in a statement.

“These young men purchased the chemicals and plastic bottles at Walmart, mixed the bombs and then set up their targets for ambush. The impact on the law enforcement community has been enormous.”