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Who is Scott Gudmundsen? Colorado ex-cop kneeled on Black athlete Barry Wesley and said police would kill him

'I was certain my death was going to be another hashtag, another reason for people to protest because it was clear that to Mr Gudmundsen my Black life did not matter'
PUBLISHED MAY 5, 2021
Scott Gudmundsen kneeled on Barry Wesley (Loveland PD and CSU Rams website)
Scott Gudmundsen kneeled on Barry Wesley (Loveland PD and CSU Rams website)

LOVELAND, COLORADO: A former police officer, 66, was sentenced to four years probation after he held at gunpoint two door-to-door salesmen last year, one of whom was a Black Colorado State University student.

He reportedly thought they were members of Antifa and even kneeled on the neck of CSU Rams football player Barry Wesley and pointed a gun at his back. He told Wesley he wasn’t going to kill him, but that the police would.

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Barry Wesley (CSU Rams)

Who is Scott Gudmundsen?

As per the Denver Post, on June 10, 2020, in the 600 block of Edinburgh Drive in Loveland, Wesley and his white colleague were selling roof inspections. When they contacted Gudmundsen at his home, he reportedly asked them to leave. Later, while they were talking to another resident, Gudmundsen approached them and demanded to see their identification. After they showed him their IDs, Gudmundsen reportedly apologized and left.

The following day, while the two were still canvassing the neighborhood, Gudmundsen approached them again with a gun and yelled at them to get on the ground. He called them terrorists and claimed they were with Antifa. 

This is when he attacked Wesley. “I can still feel how hard and how fast my heartbeat was,” Wesley said in court. “I can still remember the amount of adrenaline in my body... I was certain my death was going to be another hashtag, another reason for people to protest because it was clear that to Mr Gudmundsen my Black life did not matter.”

(Getty Images)

Following this, Gudmundsen called 911 and told dispatchers that he was confronting Antifa members in his neighborhood. As per a police affidavit, Gudmundsen reported he was wearing tactical gear, was armed, and was a former police officer. He also told dispatchers when they arrived that he would drop to the ground to show he was not a threat.

Gudmundsen pleaded guilty to a single felony count of menacing with a weapon. His public defender said that he was experiencing a mental health crisis during the attack and believed he was part of a “culture war.”

Ryan Markus, his public defender, said that Gudmundsen suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Per Markus, at the time of the incident, he was experiencing delusions and falsely believed that an injury to his knee (a splinter that had become septic and required surgery to remove) was actually caused when a protester smashed his knee with a brick.

(Getty Images)

“I truly believe that Mr Gudmundsen was suffering from mental health issues,” Markus said. “That he acted on the training he had had for years, much of which has since been changed, and rightly so.”

Gudmundsen said, “I’m trying to scratch my head and figure out what happened and why I acted the way I did... I’m horrified by my behavior. The anesthesia I was under apparently had a lasting effect on me and I was strange in the head for about six weeks... I apologize to the victims. I’m sorry.”

Eighth Judicial District Court Judge Michelle Brinegar sentenced Gudmundsen to probation. The sentence reportedly prohibits Gudmundsen from possessing weapons, using alcohol or drugs and requires that he undergo mental health treatment. It also carries a 90-day jail term, but Gudmundsen spent nine months in jail while the case was pending and was credited for time served. He also will be monitored with a GPS for between three and six months and will be required to complete 100 hours of community service.

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