On the evening of April 12, 1980, 27-year-old Colorado Springs patrolman Augustus J. Perreira Jr. was killed while responding to a disturbance at a 7-Eleven on 2555 Delta Drive. A store clerk had alerted him to a disruptive man inside; as Perreira escorted the man toward the exit, the man — later identified as Seth Buckmaster — announced he would not go to jail, produced a hidden .38 caliber revolver and fired multiple times. Despite sustaining fatal wounds, Officer Perreira was able to draw his service weapon and wound Buckmaster.

Perreira, a United States Army veteran who had been on the police force two years, left a wife and child. Buckmaster was taken into custody, tried, found not guilty by reason of insanity, and committed to the Colorado State Hospital; records show he had recent contact with the Fort Logan Mental Health Center and a history of paranoid delusions involving police. Perreira’s wife later filed a wrongful death suit alleging negligence by the State, the mental health facility and the treating psychiatrist.

If anyone knew Officer Perreira, his family, or has information about the events that night, please share what you know.