Colorado Cop Tasers Man Running Across Highway, Man Gets Run Over And Killed As He's Zapped

Headlights of an oncoming SUV barreling down Interstate 25 were in plain sight as a Colorado deputy fired a Taser at a 28-year-old man who ran into the road and was fatally struck, body camera footage released Wednesday shows.

Five seconds after shocking Brent Thompson, Larimer County Sheriff’s deputy Lorenzo Lujan is heard saying “Shit, shit,” before the driver of the SUV honks and hits Thompson lying on his back, the footage shows. (Editor’s note: The released footage is graphic and may be disturbing to some viewers).

Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen said his department grieved Thompson’s death, but defended the deputy’s “split-second” decision Feb. 18 to deploy his Taser at Thompson as he crossed the interstate. Thompson was suspected of providing a fake name to deputies after he was pulled over about 9:15 p.m. for expired registration.

An internal review of Lujan’s actions found that the deputy acted in line with the department’s policies, Feyan said in a recorded briefing of the incident posted online Wednesday. Last week, the county’s district attorney said Lujan used poor judgment, but cleared Lujan of criminal charges.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Thompson’s choices created a potentially no-win situation,” the sheriff said. “Simply letting him run away could have resulted in deadly consequences for travelers on the highway and the deputy was forced to make a choice: act and try to stop the suspect or stand by passively and just hope no innocent people got hurt.”