The Montezuma County Detention Center had to be shut down and decontaminated Friday after three deputies and a detention nurse developed respiratory problems and light-headedness. They had come into contact with an Albuquerque man who was arrested in Cortez in a stolen vehicle after a high-speed pursuit. Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin tells KSJD Michael B. McMordie, age 31, was spotted going over 100 mph in a law enforcement vehicle on Highway 145 around 8 Friday morning. He was pursued by sheriff's personnel west on Highway 184 and then south on Highway 491, where the pursuit was discontinued near highway construction north of Cortez. Nowlin says McMordie's vehicle - which turned out to be an Albuquerque Public Schools security vehicle - eventually went into McElmo Creek near the Cortez Sanitation District and he was arrested. Because he appeared to be under the influence of methamphetamine, he was taken to Southwest Memorial Hospital to be medically cleared. After that, he was transported to the jail. The facility had to be shut down from about 11 a.m. until late afternoon while it was decontaminated with the help of the Cortez Police Department and Cortez Fire Protection District. Nowlin says it is unknown what exactly caused the contamination but the Colorado State Patrol's hazmat team is investigating.
Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
