Debra Sue Corr biography: 13 things about Aurora, Colorado cop

Debra Sue Herpel Corr was a police officer from Aurora, Colorado, United States. She is Jack H. Herpel and Peggy S. Moritz‘s daughter, Don Moritz‘s stepdaughter and Donald Price Herpel‘s sister.

Corr and Donald are Harold Price and Patricia Ann McElroy‘s niece and nephew, Florence McElroy‘s grandchildren and Peggy Reis‘s great grandchildren. Here are 13 more things about Corr:

1. She was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
2. She grew up in Loveland, Colorado where she attended elementary, junior and senior high schools.
3. The Aurora Police Department was formed in 1907. She is the department’s first officer killed in the line of duty. During her tenure in the department, she received two medals for marksmanship.
4. In 1973, she graduated from Loveland Senior High School.
5. She received a scholarship from the Loveland Police Department to attend Trinidad State Junior College in Trinidad, Colorado. In June 1975, she graduated from the college with an associate’s degree in law enforcement.
6. On December 13, 1975, she married Peter B. Corr in Taos, New Mexico, USA. They moved to Idaho Springs, Colorado where she became an active police reserve officer.
7. In May 1980, she joined the Aurora Police Department. She served as a dispatcher then as a police officer.
8. On June 2, 1980, she entered the police academy.
9. In September 1980, she graduated second in her class of 26 recruits. Upon graduation, she was assigned to the Aurora Police Department’s patrol bureau.
10. In May 1981, she and Peter separated.
11. On June 15, 1981, she and Peter filed for divorce.
12. On June 27, 1981, she pulled over Joseph Michael “Joe” Ervin, then 30, of Aurora near East Colfax Avenue and Moline Street in Aurora. When she tried to arrest and handcuff him, he broke free, took her weapon and fatally shot her. Aurora Explorer Scout Glen Joseph Spies, then 19, passed by and tried to help but was also shot. On July 1, 1981, Ervin committed suicide. On January 28, 2022, the Denver Police Department publicly identified him as the killer of Madeleine Furey-Livaudais in 1978, Dolores Barajas and Gwendolyn Harris in 1980 and Antoinette Parks in 1981.
13. On July 7, 1981, she was awarded the Aurora Police Medal of Honor. She was the only female Aurora Police Department officer on the night shift at the time of her death. She was 26.