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Bright memories of slain family man

Detective loved job, hoped to change world for the better

Sarah Langbein, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 9, 2005 at midnight

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Donnie Young was the first Denver street cop I met as a new reporter for the Rocky Mountain News.

It was a frigid morning in February 2004 when Detective Young allowed photographer Chris Schneider and me to observe the "Sweetheart Sweep," a two-day operation to apprehend men wanted on domestic violence charges.

The idea was to get these suspects to jail before Valentine's Day, a time of year when batterers typically seek forgiveness and try to re-enter their victims' lives.

We climbed into his unmarked car before sunrise. Young was wearing an untucked flannel shirt, jeans and a knit Broncos ski cap.

Like most cops, he talked about his love for the job and how he hoped to make a change in the world. On this dark morning, he planned to take a few bad guys off the street.

Young explained how the sweep would work. Young and backup officers would pull up to the last known address of suspects, roust them from their sleep and arrest them before they had a chance to resist.

But for the most part, our team had no luck.

Young took the disappointment in stride. He knew most of the addresses were out of date and admitted that the operation was "basically a fishing trip."

Along our route, we stopped at a 7-Eleven to grab a doughnut and joked how that tidbit better not appear in the following day's paper.

Over the course of several hours, during our drive from house to house, Young revealed little pieces of his life.

He described his time working undercover as a narcotics detective. To fit in with the drug crowd, he let his hair grow long and scraggly, a rough appearance that at times unnerved his neighbors.

Young talked about patrolling Colfax Avenue as a vice detective, searching for prostitutes. And on that February morning we spent with him, he pointed out a few as we passed by.

The detective was a Harley-Davidson guy, a joker and an athlete. He loved watching the Colorado Avalanche.

But most of all, Young made it clear that he was a family man, a dedicated dad to two daughters who seemed to occupy all of his time outside of work.

Young hinted that he had big plans for his wife for Valentine's Day.

Those details, however, he kept to himself.

Service and sacrifice

Other Colorado police officers who have died while in uniform:

1994

• Beth Haynes, a Boulder police officer, was killed while responding to a domestic dispute.

• Roger Coursey, the Hinsdale County sheriff, was shot in the chest by suspected bank robbers.

1995

• Shawn Leinen, a Denver police officer, was shot while chasing a 16-year-old he suspected of trying to steal a car.

• Timothy Mossbrucker, a Jefferson County sheriff's sergeant, was gunned down in an Albertson's parking lot while responding to a shooting.

1997

• Ron DeHerrera, a Denver officer, died after the patrol car he was riding in collided with a car driven by a teenage car-theft suspect.

• Bruce VanderJagt, a Denver police officer, was killed in a shootout with a fleeing burglary suspect.

1998

• Dale Claxton, a Cortez police officer, was killed when he stopped a water truck and was ambushed by men firing automatic weapons.

1999

• Ronald King, a Douglas County sheriff's motorcycle officer, was killed when he was hit by a drunken driver on U.S. 85.

2000

• Dennis Licata, a Denver motorcycle officer, died after losing control of his Harley-Davidson and smashing into a car while responding to a call.

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