Tom Clements Shot: Colorado DOC Head Killed

CBS4 has learned that a gunman shot and killed Tom Clements, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, at his home in Monument late Tuesday night.

Few details were known about the incident but multiple state and corrections sources confirmed the incident to CBS4. One said a suspect has not been apprehended as of early Wednesday morning.

Officials with the El Paso Sheriff’s office said they were searching for a suspect or suspects using K9 units near Clements’ home.

Clements, 58, lived in Monument and was appointed to serve as the head of the DOC by Governor John Hickenlooper in January 2011. He oversaw operations of state and private prisons and parole operations. Clements came to Colorado from Missouri, where he worked for 31 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Eric Brown, a spokesman for Gov. John Hickenlooper, said DOC employees and other state employees were being notified early Wednesday morning about the murder. He said Gov. Hickenlooper would also likely make a public statement early Wednesday morning.

In an email to Department of Corrections employees notifying them of the killing, Gov. Hickenlooper said, “I can hardly believe it, let alone write words to describe it. I am so sad. I have never worked with a better person than Tom, and I can’t imagine our team without him.”

The governor described Clements as “unfailingly kind and thoughtful.”

Clements is survived by his wife, Lisa, along with two daughters.