DENVER (AP) — A Colorado deputy who deployed a Taser on a man who was later struck and killed by an SUV on Interstate 25 will not face criminal charges, prosecutors said Friday.
While Larimer County Deputy Lorenzo Lujan’s decision to use the Taser on Brent Thompson after he fled while the deputy tried to arrest him in February showed “poor judgment” and possibly the need for additional training, 8th District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin said a jury is unlikely to find Lujan guilty of criminal negligence and convict him.
According to McLaughlin’s letter summarizing the investigation into Thompson’s death, Thompson pulled over at an I-25 exit after Lujan turned on the headlights of his patrol car. But after Lujan told Thompson he was under arrest, he raced down an embankment towards the freeway.
Body camera footage showed Thompson climbing onto the highway from the shoulder when Lujan deployed the Taser, and another officer said he saw Thompson fall on the north side of the roadway, the summary letter said. The second officer then saw headlights approaching and waved his flashlight to warn the vehicle to stop.
The man driving the Ford Explorer, with his wife and three children inside, said he saw something on the road and two people standing along the highway. He said he tried to get away from people and hit something on the road.
Lujan told investigators he wanted to detain Thompson so he wouldn’t pose a threat to himself or drivers on the highway.
However, the letter noted that he had looked for approaching vehicles about 20 seconds before deploying the Taser, but not immediately before using it about 15 seconds later, calling it “a clear error in judgement.”
A law firm representing Thompson’s family called the decision not to pursue the charges a “travesty of justice” and called for Lujan to be fired. The sheriff’s office did not immediately return an email or phone message seeking comment.
Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC’s statement refers to another case where officers from another county in Colorado were sued after a woman under arrest was placed in a patrol car parked on train tracks. A train then rammed the car, injuring the woman.
“As unconscionable as it may be to lock someone in a police car on train tracks, it is even more unconscionable to taser someone on the highway at night. Tasting a person on the highway is a death sentence,” the law firm said.