March 20, 2013 07:27 AM UTC

Colorado Department of Corrections Director Murdered

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #2: ACLU of Colorado Executive Director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley:

"The ACLU of Colorado is profoundly saddened to learn of the death of Tom Clements, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Corrections. We send our deepest sympathies to Mr. Clements’ family.

"During his short two-year tenure, Mr. Clements took significant strides to protect the civil rights and human dignity of prisoners. Not only did he close Colorado State Penitentiary II – a supermax facility designed to deny prisoners human contact – but he dramatically reduced the population of prisoners held in solitary conditions. In the last several months, he worked cooperatively with the ACLU of Colorado to reduce the significant numbers of seriously mentally ill prisoners held in long-term solitary confinement.

"Mr. Clements was an intelligent, kind and humane leader who was open and receptive to the ACLU’s work. He will be deeply missed."

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UPDATE: From Scott Wasserman, Executive Director of the Colorado WINS public employees union:

Tom Clements was a leader who looked out for those he led. As we worked on any number of issues facing the Corrections workforce, we always knew we had a reasonable and enlightened man at the other end of the table who wanted to reach a fair solution . He was a friend of this union and we are shocked by this tragedy.

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Horrible news this morning, reports the AP:

Gov. John Hickenlooper has ordered flags lowered to half-staff at public buildings statewide in memory of Tom Clements, executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections who was shot and killed.

The governor said Wednesday flags will be lowered from sunrise to sunset until the day after Clements' funeral. Arrangements are pending.

FOX 31 has more information, the killer remains at large:

Police say there was a knock on Clements door around 8:30 p.m., and that when Clements answered it, he was shot and killed.

Police have not given any description of a suspect, but multiple reports out of Colorado Springs indicate that the individual responsible for Clements’ death is still at large.

From Gov. John Hickenlooper's letter to Department of Corrections employees:

As your Executive Director, he helped change and improve DOC in two years more than most people could do in eight years. He was unfailingly kind and thoughtful, and sought the "good" in any situation. As you all know, in corrections that is not easy.

We have no more details than that. I am so sad. I have never worked with a better person than Tom, and I can't imagine our team without him.

This is the highest-level Colorado government official ever murdered in office that we are aware of–please check this for us, astute readers. Needless to say, high-level corrections officials are in a position where something like this could happen with any number of motives. We join everyone else in Colorado in the hope Mr. Clements' killer is swiftly brought to justice.