FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A man who was shot and killed by Fort Collins police officers last month was the suspect in a cold case homicide from 2019, according to the Fort Collins Police Services.
The incident began around 12:41 p.m. on July 21 when officers responded to a single-vehicle rollover crash at Mountain Avenue and Bryan Avenue. According to Fort Collins police, a sergeant and patrol officer found the driver outside of the vehicle and armed with a firearm.
The department said the man shot at the officers "during their brief encounter," striking one of them. He then ran into the nearby Grandview Cemetery.
Additional law enforcement agents arrived and surrounded the cemetery. Authorities found the man and "more gunfire occurred" before the man fell to the ground, according to police. Officers used the department's armored rescue vehicle to approach the injured man. He was then taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries.
The Larimer County coroner identified the man as Clayton Pierce, 42, of Fort Collins.
The injured officer was treated for a gunshot wound at the hospital and released.
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Following an investigation, the 8th Judicial District Attorney's Office determined that the officers were justified in their use of deadly force and no charges would be filed against them.
Investigators also determined that Pierce was a suspect in a recently reopened cold case homicide from 2019.
According to Fort Collins police, in 2019, officers responded to reports of a man lying unresponsive in his home. The man — later identified as Joseph "Sonny" Brigman — was the victim of homicide.
The department said detectives "exhausted all investigative leads at that time," but the case went cold. Detectives revisited the investigation in 2023 "with the hope of generating new leads and further examining evidence." The investigation eventually led them to Pierce as a suspect.
According to Fort Collins police, detectives "determined that sufficient evidence existed to prove Pierce was responsible for the death of Brigman."
The Larimer County District Attorney's Office filed charges against Pierce on Aug. 20, according to Fort Collins police. The department said the district attorney's office would have pursued a first-degree murder charge against Pierce if he were not deceased.
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