August 22, 2023

Chief Terrence Gordon

City of Thornton Police Department
9551 Civic Center Drive
Thornton, CO 80229

Sheriff Gene Claps

Adams County Sheriff’s Office
4430 S. Adams County Parkway
Brighton, CO 80601

Re: The criminal investigation concerning Adams County Sheriff’s Deputy Ezekiel Spotts

Dear Chief Gordon and Sheriff Claps:

I’m writing regarding the incident investigated by the Thornton Police Department that
occurred on July 18, 2023 between then off-duty Adams County Sheriff’s Deputy Ezekiel
Spotts and two civilians at the Walmart located at 7101 East 128th Avenue. Thornton Police
Detectives Wendy Johnson and Fred Longobricco led the investigation into the matter. The
Office of the District Attorney concludes that the investigation was thorough and complete.
This letter includes a summary of the facts and materials presented to my office for review.

The District Attorney’s review is limited to determining whether any criminal charges
should be filed against any the involved officer for a violation of Colorado law. The standard of
proof for filing a criminal case is whether there is sufficient evidence to prove all the elements
of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution also has the burden to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that the use of force was not legally justified. This review is not intended to
take the place of an internal affairs investigation and, as such, it does not evaluate compliance
with any departmental policies, standards, or procedures. Any internal affairs investigation
should be conducted by the Adams County Sheriff’s Office where Mr. Spotts is employed.

Based on a full review of the evidence presented, there is no reasonable likelihood of

proving the elements of any crime beyond a reasonable doubt against Mr. Spotts. Therefore, no
criminal charges will be filed as a result of this incident.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

During the afternoon hours of July 18, 2023, Thornton patrol officers responded to a
physical disturbance between a male and two females at the Walmart located at 7101 East 128th
Avenue. Upon arrival, officers contacted the involved male, Ezekiel Spotts, and his girlfriend,
M.H. 1, in the parking lot. Mr. Spotts approached the officer and advised that he was “the other
party,” and was waiting for the police to arrive. He advised that he and M.H. walked out of the
Walmart followed by two females he described as “mother and daughter.” He claimed that “the
daughter” acted as if he was moving too slow and started “running her mouth,” yelling at him.
She got in front of him and stood in his face, preventing him from leaving the store. He stated
that he pushed her out of the way, and she slapped him three or four times before he pushed her
again. According to Mr. Spotts, they separated from one another, and he thought the incident
was over, so he walked out to the parking lot. He saw the same female standing near a vehicle
and approached her to take a photograph of her license plate with his phone. He claimed that
his action of taking a photo “really set them off,” and both females attacked him, striking him
several times. Mr. Spotts said he struck “the mother” in the nose after she hit him. After the
second altercation, both females got in a vehicle and left the area. Mr. Spotts showed the
Thornton officer his injuries, which included abrasions on the back of his neck, near his eye,
and on the back of his right hand. During the initial statement, Mr. Spotts advised the officer
that he is an off-duty deputy employed by the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.

Mr. Spotts and M.H. both elected to provide a handwritten statement on scene. Mr.
Spotts’s statement included additional detail that, when the female initially confronted him, she
stated “Let’s go!” and threatened to “fuck him up.” He added that when he asked her to move,
she stated “No, what the fuck are you going to do about it?” Mr. Spotts wrote that he pushed
the female out of the way when she refused to move. The female struck and scratched at him
and he claimed that he “protected himself” by pushing her away. He recalled that the older
female “intervened and grabbed the younger female and stood between us.” As they separated,
the younger female yelled out that he “was lucky nothing else happened” and that she “would
fuck him up.” Once in the parking lot, Mr. Spotts tried to take pictures of the two women and
their license plate when they slapped at him and tried to take his phone. He stated that he
walked away a couple of steps and said that he would wait to take the picture, but that they
physically assaulted him. He claimed that he was scratched, slapped, and hit by both females,
and that the older one stuck him in the face. He responded by hitting her. M.H.’s statement
offered a similar description of events.

Meanwhile, other patrol officers went to North Suburban Medical Center Northeast
where they identified the two females involved in the incident, L.H. and E.S. L.H. had a visible
laceration to her nose and was in a great deal of pain. L.H. stated that she and her daughter
walked out of the Walmart when a male stopped in front of them just outside the exit. She said
words were exchanged between the male and her daughter, but she did not hear what was said.
She claimed that the male got into her daughter’s face and shoved her two times. L.H. claimed
that her daughter then punched the male and the male started “wailing on her,” striking her face
and jaw. Her daughter struck him back and L.H. got in between the two, separating them.
After the incident, they walked into the parking lot, where they saw the male again near them.
She advised that she told the male to stop instigating the fight, but the male got into her
daughter’s face and chest bumped her to fight again. She saw her daughter hit the male and he
began “wailing on her” and “choking her” while she was on the ground. L.H. tried to intervene
in the assault by shoving the male away, at which point the male “clocked her” several times in
the face. L.H. recalled that she fell into the shopping cart that held her infant grandchild, who

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Initials are used for all civilians identified in this incident to maintain privacy interests.

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was strapped in a car seat. L.H. and the child in the car seat fell to the ground.

Officers next interviewed E.S. She advised that she was pushing a shopping cart out of
the Walmart with her mother and her infant daughter when a male and female stopped in front
of them. She commented, “Don’t just stop in front of people,” and the male replied, “Why
don’t you say that to my face?” She alleged that the male got in her face and said, “Hit me,” to
which she replied, “I’m not going to hit you, but you can hit me.” E.S. stated that the male
pushed her, causing her to lose her balance. She got back into the male’s face and he tried to
swing at her, so she swung back and hit him in the face. She claimed that the male “socked her”
several times. She and her mother then walked away from the male and toward her mother’s
vehicle. A short time later, E.S. noticed that the male was running toward them with his cell
phone out as if he was recording. She claimed that the male stuck the phone in her face to the
point it touched her nose. She swatted the phone out of his hand, at which point the male put
both hands around her throat and pushed her backward inside the rear compartment of her
mother’s SUV. E.S. stated that the male strangled her for approximately 30 seconds to the point
she could not breathe. She recalled her mother, L.H., got in between the two of them and told
the male to leave. The male then hit her mother four times in the nose, causing her to fall back
into the shopping cart where her infant was strapped in a car seat. The cart fell onto its side,
dropping the infant and the car seat to the ground. E.S. got the child secured, got in the car and
drove her mother to the hospital. E.S. told bystanders that the police could find her there.

Thornton Police Detectives collected the written statements of L.H. and E.S. In their
written statements, both L.H. and E.S. recounted the events and claimed that the male strangled
E.S. with his hands during the physical struggle in the parking lot. In the days following the
incident, Detectives stayed in communication with L.H. and E.S. to arrange for follow up
interviews. L.H. advised that she was “foggy” due to still having a concussion and was
experiencing blood in her vomit and stool. She also expressed that she needed additional x-rays
of her foot due to increased bruising and swelling. Consequently, she was seeking additional
medical treatment. An officer met L.H. at the hospital on July 21, 2023. At that time, L.H.
reported to the officer that her daughter, E.S. was strangled until she became unconscious and
urinated in her pants. The officer recommended that E.S. be evaluated by a forensic nurse
examiner to further evaluate the nature and extent of her injuries. The forensic nurse examiner
interviewed L.H. and E.S., both of whom detailed the events that led to their respective injuries.
Significantly, L.H. and E.S. each described that the male “rushed” or “ran” toward them to
confront them in the parking lot, where he proceeded to hit E.S., get on top of her, and strangle
her with both hands. E.S. claimed to have lost consciousness due to strangulation.

On July 20, 2023, L.H. gave on-camera interviews with various media organizations
regarding the incident. In those interviews, L.H. claimed that the male caused the initial
altercation and escalated it by pushing E.S. and grabbing her. She further stated that the male
struck E.S. in the eye before they parted ways. She alleged that Spotts ran over toward them in
the parking lot, where he caused another physical confrontation. In this second incident, she
claimed he threw E.S. into the back of her car and choked her to the point L.H. heard a
“gurgling” sound. L.H. claimed that when she tried to intervene, Mr. Spotts grabbed her throat,
struck her in the face and the side of the head, causing her to fall over the shopping cart and to
the ground on top of her infant grandchild. L.S. claimed that she sustained injuries that
included a broken nose and a fractured skull. She further advised that E.S. suffered from neck

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bruising, a fractured foot, and additional internal injuries.

In a social media post days after the incident, L.H. is observed in a recorded video
making the following statement:

I need this to go viral. I had an off-duty officer beat the hell out of me for trying
to keep him from killing my child. My adult child was being strangled by him
and I had pushed him off her, kept my arm away out like that and said, “you need
to stop,” “you need to deescalate.” You cannot continue. And he grabbed me
and did this to me. I have a cracked skull and I have a broken nose. My right
eye is so swollen, if you can’t see that I’m literally not able to see out of it.
Something must be done.

In other social media comments, L.H. stated that the incident started because Mr. Spotts
cut them off and would not let E.S. pass. She also stated that Mr. Spotts kept putting his hands
on E.S. L.H. provided Mr. Spotts’ full name and city in which he lives, encouraging others to
search his name. Regarding injuries, L.H. stated that “the forensic nurse said that he just about
killed [E.S. and that she] had hemorrhaging in her eyes, ears, nose, and throat.” L.H. also stated
that she may have a traumatic brain injury as a result of the incident.

Detectives followed up with the independent witnesses who observed the incident.
Witness K.P. saw the initial confrontation. He reported seeing a female waving her arms
around and acting “really aggressive” toward a male by getting in his face, slapping, and
punching the male. K.P. described the female as “totally the aggressor” and that the male was
“taking at first” while he stood with his hands down holding grocery bags “letting her hit him.”
He said the male swung back only after the female hit him several times. Other witnesses also
perceived the female as the aggressor in the incident. Witness J.G., a Walmart employee, saw
the female “screaming” at the male and recalled them “going back and forth” until the female
stepped up and struck the male. He did not see the male strike back, but saw the female holding
her face after she hit the male. He saw an older female trying to pull the “screaming female”
away from the male. Witness K.S., another Walmart employee, heard a female who he
described as “loud” slap the male in the face two times before the male hit her back.

Witness R.D. pulled up to park and saw the parties “going at it” near the entrance to the
Walmart. She described a younger female “slug” the male and the male hit her back. She
called the police, parked and went up to the females’ vehicle and allowed the younger female to
talk to dispatch. R.D. stated that somehow the “mom” got involved because she had a broken
nose. She did not see anyone get strangled or lose consciousness.

Witness J.D. was loading groceries when she noticed a loud argument between parties in
the parking lot. J.D. heard a female say, “Get away from my car!” a couple of times and “If you
want to call the police, go ahead!” J.D. turned to see what was happening and observed a male
pushing a younger female into the back of a vehicle and the “mom” get in between the two.
J.D. described that the male and the “mom” “grappled for a second” before the male punched
the “mom” in the face and she fell down. J.D. was not sure if the female who was hit fell over
the shopping cart or knocked it over when she fell. As she was trying to help with the situation,

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J.D. said the male told her that “the younger lady pushed him.”

Detectives collected and reviewed all available surveillance video provided by Walmart.
The only footage relevant to the incident is that from the inside of the vestibule near the exit. In
the footage, Mr. Spotts and M.H. are observed pushing a shopping cart toward the exit. They
appear to stop just before the sliding glass doors that lead to the parking lot. E.S. appears to
push a shopping cart from behind and nearly collides into M.H. E.S. and Mr. Spotts appear to
exchange words as E.S. passes by toward the exit. E.S. steps outside the doors and turns back
to face Mr. Spotts. E.S. and Mr. Spotts square up and stand face to face with one another.

Still image of surveillance video in the Walmart vestibule depicting Mr. Spotts and E.S. confrontation just prior to
the physical altercation.

After a few seconds, Mr. Spotts places his left hand on E.S.’s right shoulder and pushes her
aside. E.S. grabs onto Mr. Spotts’s left wrist and punches Mr. Spotts with her right hand to the
left side of his face. E.S. steps back and punches Mr. Spotts again with her right hand to the left
side of his face. Mr. Spotts then hits E.S. with his right hand. L.H., who had been standing a
few feet away to this point, steps in front of E.S. and extends her left arm out toward Mr.
Spotts’s chest. Throughout the incident, M.H. stands several feet behind and does not engage in
the altercation. The parties then walk down separate aisles into the parking lot.

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 There are no additional surveillance cameras in the parking lot by which the second
incident can be observed. The store’s vestibule camera, however, does capture distant footage
of the second altercation in the parking lot. The details of that incident are not easily observed
on the video due to the distance from which the camera is located. Nevertheless, it appears that
Mr. Spotts stands with his arms extended from his body as if he is holding his phone. L.H.
walks up and appears to push Mr. Spotts in the chest. The two appear to put hands on one
another before Mr. Spotts steps back a few feet into the middle of the aisle. After several
seconds, Mr. Spotts appears to walk back toward the direction where E.S. and L.H. are located.
He stands approximately ten feet from their vehicle and appears to have his arms extended as if
he were holding a phone. Several seconds go by before L.H. steps toward Mr. Spotts and
appears to push him with both hands. Mr. Spotts shoves L.H. and bends over as if he was trying
to pick something up off the ground. L.H. attempts to push Mr. Spotts again while he is bent
over. Mr. Spotts pushes L.H. away. Throughout the duration of the video, there are moments
where vehicles obstruct consistent monitoring of the parties’ actions.

A review of the medical records for L.H.’s hospital visit on July 18, 2023 reveal that she
suffered a “mild right nasal bone fracture with overlying soft tissue swelling.” This injury was
noted to constitute serious bodily injury. Radiographic imaging confirmed that there were no
other facial bone or skull fractures. The medical records for E.S.’s follow up hospital visit on
July 21, 2023 reveal various areas of swelling and bruises on her body. Additionally, these
records contain E.S.’s allegations that she lost consciousness two times and that she urinated
herself due to strangulation. However, the reports of losing consciousness and urination are
absent from the record of the initial hospital visit on July 18, 2023. The initial medical report
summarizes, “[E.S] is unclear as to whether or not there may have been a brief loss of
consciousness, however, it appears less likely.” The child did not sustain any injuries.

E.S. and L.H. each filed formal written complaints with the Adams County Sheriff’s
Office regarding the use of force incident. The complaint authored by E.S. states that the
incident started because Mr. Spotts swung at her, and she swung back at him to protect herself.
She explains that the second incident resulted when Mr. Spotts and M.H. ran up to them and
escalated the incident. She described being punched in the face and then “choked until she
blacked out.” In the complaint written by L.H., she alleges that the incident started because Mr.
Spotts was blocking the exit and pushed E.S. multiple times, trying to instigate a fight. L.H.
describes watching Mr. Spotts place both hands around E.S.’s neck “choking her so hard it
looked like her eyes were going to pop out of her head.” She further expressed that E.S.’s “eyes
rolled backwards” and that E.S. made “gurgling noises” from not being able to breathe.

LEGAL ANALYSIS

As previously noted, this review is limited to a determination of whether criminal

charges should be filed against Mr. Spotts. The decision to file criminal charges involves an
assessment of all known facts and circumstances as well as an evaluation of whether there is a
reasonable likelihood of conviction at trial under the applicable law. Criminal liability is
established when the evidence is sufficient to prove all the elements of a crime beyond a
reasonable doubt. In addition to proving the elements of a crime, the prosecution must also

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disprove any statutorily recognized justification or defense beyond a reasonable doubt.
Consequently, in order to file a criminal charge, the District Attorney’s Office must be able to
prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the a person’s actions were not justified under the
circumstances surrounding this incident and the applicable law.

Under Colorado law, a person has the right to defend themselves or others from the use
or imminent use of unlawful physical force upon them. Under §18-1-704, C.R.S. (2023),

a person is justified in using physical force upon another person in order to

defend himself or a third person from what he reasonably believes to be the use
or imminent use of unlawful physical force by that other person, and he may use
a degree of force which he reasonably believes to be necessary for that purpose.

The use of reasonable force is an affirmative defense, meaning that the prosecution must prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that the use of force was not justified under the circumstances.
Further, the law provides that a person does not have to retreat prior to exercising the right to
use force in self-defense.

In this case, there is no dispute that Mr. Spotts struck L.H., causing her serious bodily
injury. There is also no dispute that Mr. Spotts struck E.S. While E.S. has indication of
bruising, there was no finding of serious bodily injury. Despite the clear evidence that Mr.
Spotts struck two females causing them injury, there remains a significant question of who the
initial aggressor was in these incidents. The legal question for this analysis is whether Mr.
Spotts’s use of physical force was reasonable and necessary. Applying the proper legal
standards to the facts and circumstances of this case, the central issue is whether an objectively
reasonable person would have concluded that either E.S. or L.H. presented a risk of unlawful
physical force such that striking them with hands was necessary.

Here, given the inconsistencies and contradictions between the reports and statements of
the involved parties, the best evidence of these incidents is the surveillance camera footage and
the statements of the independent witnesses. In this first interaction, the video indisputably
depicts E.S. starting a confrontation with Mr. Spotts in the vestibule area. It appears that E.S.
not only started the confrontation, but acted as if she were preventing Mr. Spotts from walking
out of the Walmart. Significantly, E.S. gets within inches of Mr. Spotts as if to stand in the way
of his exit. Mr. Spotts places his hand on E.S.’s shoulder and moves her aside when E.S.
suddenly strikes Mr. Spotts with a hand to the face two times. Mr. Spotts then strikes her back.
Mr. Spotts’s conduct of placing his hand on E.S. and moving her aside appears to be in response
to her action of confronting him and standing in his way. Mr. Spotts only struck E.S. with his
hand one time after she struck him two times in the face. Under these circumstances and with
an objective analysis of this evidence, the video evidence supports a finding that, during the
initial confrontation, Mr. Spotts was acting on a reasonable belief that he must defend himself
from the continued use of physical force by E.S., and that he used a degree of force he
reasonably believed was necessary for this purpose.

Unlike the first altercation, there is no conclusive video evidence as to the second
incident. Therefore, we must consider the totality of the evidence and make inferences based on