Vigil Planned For Fallen Arvada Officer: How To Watch

ARVADA, CO — A vigil is set to be held Tuesday evening for an Arvada police officer who lost his life in the line of duty.

Officer Gordon Beesley was killed in a shooting Monday in Olde Town Arvada. Two others — a suspect and a community member — were also shot and killed.

The vigil is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Peace Lutheran Church, 5675 Field St.

Space in the church is limited, so the city of Arvada is set to livestream the vigil, which you can watch here. The event will also air on the city's Channel 8, available locally on Comcast/TDS Channels 8/HD880.

Flowers were piled on top of a police cruiser festooned with U.S. flags and balloons Tuesday outside the Arvada Police Department in a memorial for Beesley, less than a mile from where the deadly shooting occurred.

"This location is highly visible to the City’s public safety team and is the most meaningful place for people to pay respects and place memorials in support of Officer Beesley, his family and our Police Department," the city of Arvada said in a news release.

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Beesley worked for the Arvada Police Department for 19 years as a patrol officer and as a motorcycle traffic officer before being assigned to work with students at Oberon Middle School.

According to his school resource officer biography, he played the drums in a band and enjoyed hiking, biking, skiing, and camping with his family. His motto was “Look for the good in every day.”

The biography posted on the city's website said: “He is dedicated to fostering a safe environment in his school, opening the lines of communication for the students, and teaching them the importance of integrity as they move on to the next phase of their lives.”

In 2015, Beesley began biking to school alongside a seventh grader with developmental delay after learning that he was really interested in bicycles but that his mother did not want him riding alone, according to a KUSA-TV story.

After he was killed Monday, about 100 people — some holding American flags and pro-police flags — gathered as a procession of police cars and motorcycles escorted the hearse carrying Beesley’s body to the coroner’s office.

Among them was Elaine Magnuson, who choked up as she watched. She originally thought the huge police response in the area indicated that a car accident might have happened — not a shooting that killed a police officer.

“It’s so close,” she said.