Larimer deputy won’t be criminally charged in death of man struck on I-25 after being shocked with Taser

No criminal charges will be brought against a Larimer County sheriff’s deputy in the death of a 28-year-old man who was struck and killed by a vehicle on Interstate 25 after the deputy shocked him with a Taser.

Brent Allen Thompson, of Loveland, died Feb. 18 during a traffic stop in which Deputy Lorenzo Lujan deployed his Taser on Thompson. The man collapsed into the northbound lane of I-25 and was hit by a passing motorist, according to a fatal use-of-force decision letter on the incident issued by the Larimer County District Attorney’s Office.

Thompson had been stopped by Lujan on an I-25 off-ramp for expired registration tags on the vehicle he was driving, the document said. During the stop, Thompson was found to be driving the Ford Fusion despite his driver’s license having been revoked.

Lujan was attempting to arrest Thompson when he took off running toward the highway, according to the decision letter. Lujan chased Thompson and deployed the Taser as Thompson jumped a guardrail along the shoulder of the highway. The driver who hit Thompson pulled over and stopped. Thompson was taken to the Medical Center of the Rockies where he was pronounced dead.

In his decision letter, District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin wrote that an investigation and review of Colorado law found “there is no reasonable likelihood of success in proving unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt that Deputy Lorenzo Lujan is criminally culpable for his attempt to effect the arrest of Brent Thompson.

“Having concluded that burden cannot be met, no criminal charges will be filed against the deputy.”

Thompson’s family, through their attorney, is calling for the sheriff’s office to “immediately fire” Lujan and release all video footage of the incident as required by law.

“The family further calls upon the Colorado Attorney General to review the decision of the District Attorney and bring justice for their son,” said a statement from the Rathod Mohamedbhai law firm. “The District Attorney’s decision not to bring criminal charges against this deputy is a travesty of justice. As unconscionable as it is locking a person in a police car on railroad tracks, it is even more unconscionable to tase someone on the interstate at night. Tasing a person on the interstate is a death sentence.”

Thompson’s family, according to the statement, “has been destroyed by the grief of losing their son, brother, and grandson.”

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