FARGO, N.D. (AP) - In a story Jan. 24 about the funeral for Rolette County Sheriff’s Deputy Colt Allerty, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Sen. Heidi Heitkamp attended the funeral. Heitkamp was represented by a staff member.
A corrected version of the story is below:
North Dakota deputy killed on job remembered as true warrior
A North Dakota sheriff’s deputy who was shot and killed in the line of duty is being remembered as someone who could light up a room
By DAVE KOLPACK
Associated Press
FARGO, N.D. (AP) - More than a thousand law enforcement officers joined the governor and other dignitaries to mourn a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy who was killed in the line of duty last week, as his boss remembered him as a cheerful and competitive spirit both on and off the job.
Colt Allery, 29, was fatally shot as he and three other Rolette County deputies exchanged gunfire with a suspect accused of stealing a vehicle. The suspect, who has not been identified, also was killed. None of the other deputies was hurt.
Allery’s funeral service was held in Belcourt, a town near the Canadian border, where he was honored by law enforcement officers from around U.S. and Canada, and members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. He had worked for the sheriff’s office for just three months.
“Colt was a kind soul. He had a warm heart and he was a hard worker when it came to law enforcement,” Rolette County Sheriff Gerald Medrud said. “If you ever knew him, he had the natural ability to light up a room and he would make you smile before the end of the conversation.”
The sheriff also noted Allery’s competitiveness, recalling a time when they attended training classes and ended one day by playing touch football in a paved parking lot. A shove by Allery during a pass play left the sheriff with scrapes on his hands and knees, and bruised ribs.
“The next six weeks Colt bragged that he hurt the sheriff here really good,” Medrud said, drawing laughs from a packed auditorium at Turtle Mountain Community College.
About 1,200 officers attended the funeral and about 320 law enforcement vehicles were part of the processional, according to Cass County sheriff’s Sgt. Timothy Briggerman, who helped organize arrangements for law officers. The service was also live-streamed online.
The mourners included Gov. Doug Burgum, state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, state Indian Affairs Commission executive director Scott Davis, and state Sen. Richard Marcellais, of Belcourt.
Burgum recited the events of the night Allery was killed, as told to him by Allery’s fiance, Alexandria. The governor said she told him her family was sitting around the dinner table when Allery received a phone call about a dangerous situation unfolding. He gave his fiance a hug and kiss, told her he loved her, and said: “I’ll see you in the morning.” Two hours later, he was dead.
Allery is survived by his four children, his fiance and her daughter, as well as a “large law enforcement family,” Burgum said.
“Our hearts ache with yours at the loss of your loved one,” Burgum said, his voice cracking. “Deputy Colt Eugene Allery, a true warrior for peace.”
Allery is the 57th law enforcement officer in North Dakota to be killed in the line of duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a national nonprofit group that keeps records of fallen officers.
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