PUEBLO, Colo. — A memorial service was held Monday morning for a parole officer who was hit and killed late last month in Colorado Springs.
Christine Guerin Sandoval and two other officers were trying to serve a warrant on Justin Kula when he allegedly struck Guerin Sandoval and another parole officer, according to law enforcement officials. Guerin Sandoval and the other officer were rushed to a hospital. Guerin Sandoval died at the hospital, and the other officer was treated and released.
"You were always willing to help anyone, and that’s what you were doing the day you became an angel," Danielle Martinez, Guerin Sandoval's parole officer partner, said. "You had such a heartwarming laugh and the biggest smile that drew everyone in. You were the best partner. I couldn’t have asked for better."
"We don't take lightly the privilege and the honor to celebrate the person that Christine was," Gov. Jared Polis said at the memorial service.
Polis called Guerin Sandoval a hero. Her friend Dassity Miller called her a loving wife, daughter and mother of two children.
"You see Christine was a special person. One of the kindest, loyal and strongest women to have walked this Earth," Miller said. "Christine had the most authentic, gorgeous, loving smile that would brighten any dark room."
Before Guerin Sandoval worked as a parole officer, she was a deputy with the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office for 12 years.
"You see being a female working in a man’s world is never easy," Miller said. "But Christine did not cower. She stepped in and became the best deputy and the best parole officer. You know she earned deputy of the year two times at the sheriff’s office."
Miller said inmates in the jail respected Guerin Sandoval.
"And people she arrested, they would thank her," Miller said.
Stacey Guerin is Guerin Sandoval's younger sister. Guerin Sandoval was the oldest of her siblings, and Guerin said she was a good big sister.
"My sister is definitely one of a kind. She loved me unconditionally for the last 45 years," Guerin said. "She was my sister, a wonderful mother, a wife, a daughter and had a heart of gold."
Guerin said she made a promise to watch over her sister's children.
"You were one of the most badass women I ever knew," Guerin said. "I want to thank you so much for loving me."
Guerin Sandoval was the first Department of Corrections employee to be killed in an act of violence since 2013, when DOC Director Tom Clements was ambushed and killed at his home.
Miller said her friend will never be forgotten.
"We will make sure your memory lives on forever. We will fight for your justice. We will fight for the changes that need to happen," Miller said. "You will have not died in vain. You are a hero and your legacy is forever."
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