Suicide has been ruled the cause of death afer the autopsy on a man who shot himself during a traffic stop Wednesday, Rio Blanco County Undersheriff Michael Joos said.

Robert Harold Rawson, 56, of Meeker, had been named in criminal warrants when he shot himself in the torso with a short-barreled shotgun, Joos said. The shooting occurred after a Colorado State Patrol trooper stopped Rawson at 5:07 p.m. Wednesday at Colorado Highway 13 and Rio Blanco County Road 5, 23 miles south of Meeker.

“He had a lengthy criminal history and had made statements to family that he wasn’t going back to prison,” Joos said.

Rawson was named in warrants issued by Rio Blanco County on charges of domestic violence, assault and driving while under restraint as a habitual offender. He also was out on bond for an earlier felony charge of driving under the influence.

The Sheriff’s Department said Rawson shot himself while sitting in his vehicle, within a minute of being pulled over. The trooper and two sheriff’s deputies immediately performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until an ambulance from the Meeker Fire/Rescue Department arrived.

A U.S. Forest Service ranger and additional personnel from the Sheriff’s Department and State Patrol responded to the scene. After more than a half hour of efforts to save Rawson, he was pronounced dead at 5:47 p.m.

The Sheriff’s Department called in the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to assist with the investigation.

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