Victim identified in Craig police officer shooting
Craig police officer who allegedly shot a man also named in federal lawsuit involving 2023 use of force incident
Craig city officials have identified the victim allegedly shot by a Craig police officer in late April.
The identification came Monday, over two weeks after the April 26 shooting.
Craig police officer Dalton Caudell allegedly shot Craig resident Troy Wade Curtis Jr., 36, the morning of April 26, according to Craig City Attorney Heather Cannon.
Steamboat Pilot & Today staff contacted Cannon and Craig City Manager Peter Brixius on May 5 for further information regarding the shooting after Craig police had stated in a May 1 news release that the victim’s name would not be released to “protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”
“At this time, the city has determined that pursuant to Colorado law it is able to release the subject’s name, as requested by your publication …,” wrote Cannon in a Monday morning email. “Further release of information would compromise the integrity of the investigation at this time.”
Although city officials identified Curtis, no further information about the shooting or Curtis’s condition had been provided as of Monday afternoon.
According to the Moffat County Assessor’s Office website, Curtis owns the home at 730 Ashley Road, where the shooting allegedly took place.
The initial call was made regarding suicide threats, according to the Colorado State Patrol incident log filed April 26.
“Shots were exchanged between the subject and law enforcement,” the April 26 release from Craig police stated. “The subject was struck during the exchange, and officers immediately rendered medical aid until paramedics arrived on scene.”
According to the April 26 news release from Craig police, Curtis was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital in Craig, where he was stabilized before being flown to another medical facility for further treatment.
No other injuries have been reported.
“Sgt. Caudell has been placed on administrative leave, per standard protocol, while the incident is under investigation by 14th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team,” the May 1 news release from Craig police stated.
The 14th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team is leading the investigating of the shooting, according to Craig police.
The Critical Incident Response Team is an independent, multi-agency group responsible for conducting “thorough and impartial investigations into critical incidents involving law enforcement” in Moffat, Routt and Grand counties.
On April 28, Police Chief Mike Cochran said the Craig Police Department is not involved with the investigation related to the shooting, per Critical Incident Response Team protocol, and directed all questions regarding the shooting to the Grand County Sheriff’s Office, the agency conducting the investigation.
On May 6, Grand County Sheriff’s Office Communications Director Erin Opsahl stated that the “Craig Police Department will remain primary for any releases when appropriate, and our office has been directed to return any correspondence back to them.”
In Monday’s email, Cannon further directed questions about the shooting to 14th Judicial District Attorney Matt Karzen.
Karzen later emailed newspaper staff, noting that the investigation could take anywhere from several weeks to several months.
“Our goal is accuracy and truth and an appropriate legal outcome, and while completing the process sooner than later is preferable, that must be secondary to the integrity of the process and getting the legally correct outcomes,” Karzen said in a Monday morning email to Craig Press and Steamboat Pilot & Today staff.
Caudell named in a federal lawsuit
Officer Caudell has also been named as a defendant in a federal lawsuit against officers who allegedly used deadly force to run over a Craig man with a vehicle in April 2023, according to a court order filed in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
Caudell — who has five years of service with the Craig Police Department and is currently on administrative leave as the investigation of the shooting continues — is also named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in federal court May 1.
That lawsuit alleges Caudell, along with Craig officer Tracy Mendoza and Moffat County Sheriff deputies Chip McIntyre, Kurtis Luster, Nate Businger, Brandon Montoya and Matt Hammer, used excessive use of force in a September 2023 incident.
At around 7:05 a.m. on Sept. 22, 2023, law enforcement officers received reports that a man was allegedly “carrying a rifle on foot” through Craig. At around 7:11 a.m., Mendoza “identified” the man as Tanner Sholes, a Craig resident at the time, according to court documents filed in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
McIntyre, Businger, Hammer, Investigator Dave Simone, Luster, Mendoza and Commander Doug Conrad responded to the incident.
According to the court order, Sholes was not allowed to possess a firearm at the time of the incident due to three protection orders filed against him.
Law enforcement officers alleged seeing Sholes “obstructing traffic,” but there’s “no video footage” that corroborates the claims, according to the court documents, which added that Sholes traveled over four miles on public roadways as the officers followed him, passing residences “without any incident or any threat of harm.”
“(Sholes) had not removed the rifle or made any threatening gestures,” the court order states.
Responding officers, including McIntyre, Businger, Hammer, Luster, Montoya, Mendoza and Caudell travelled in two separate vehicles to contact Sholes. McIntyre and Businger were driving the vehicles, according to the court order.
The court document states that the officers’ plan was for McIntyre to “issue verbal commands” to Sholes and for Businger to “drive behind (Sholes), and to drive his vehicle into (Sholes) depending on (Sholes’s) compliance.”
Officers allegedly chose to hit Sholes with their vehicle based on his criminal history, unknown mental state, failure to comply with orders and the “possibility that (Sholes) could force the officers into an altercation whereby they would need to use deadly force,” states the court order.
The court order adds that Sholes’s girlfriend had previously stated that Sholes might attempt to commit suicide by drawing officers into an altercation.
Sholes did not respond to commands to “drop to the ground,” states the court order.
About 20 seconds after the commands were issued, Businger allegedly accelerated his SUV, equipped with “large metal push bars,” toward Sholes at around 20-30 mph, according to the court document. Sholes was reportedly thrown into the air and landed in a nearby ditch.
The court order states that after officers restrained Sholes in the ditch, they discovered that the rifle was a BB gun.
Officers then “forced (Sholes) into the transport vehicle, despite his cries of pain and transported him to the jail where his injuries were left untreated,” states the court document.
According to the court order, Sholes was diagnosed with a complete ACL rupture, a complex tear of the lateral meniscus, a horizontal tear of the medial meniscus, a Grade 1 MCL injury, rotator cuff tendinopathy and bicep tendinopathy with partial tear at Poudre Valley Hospital.
On April 7, 2025, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott Varholak denied a motion filed by the defense to dismiss two of the claims made against the defendants.
The judge did approve a motion to dismiss one of the plaintiff’s claims, which stated that the city of Craig and other municipal and county entities were liable for the injuries caused by the officers’ deadly use of force.
“Shots were exchanged between the subject and law enforcement,” a press release from Craig police stated last weekend. “The subject was struck during the exchange, and officers immediately rendered medical aid until paramedics arrived on scene.”
“The (officer involved shooting) of April 26 remains under active investigation and legal assessment by the (14th Judicial District’s Critical Response Team) as to all aspects: Both as to the officer’s discharge of a firearm, and the conduct of the subject, no conclusions have been made,” said 14th Judicial District Attorney Matt Karzen in an email sent last week. In this current active and ongoing status of the investigation, disclosure of additional information at this time would be contrary to the public’s interest in maintaining the investigative integrity of this process and respecting, as possible, the privacy interests and reputations of all involved parties including involved civilians.”
“Thank you for your inquiry,” the district attorney added. “Once the investigation is complete, and the matter has been evaluated and final decisions made, the CIRT will issue a press release, and depending on the outcome, additional information may be disclosable at that time.”
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