Two Thornton officers who fired at armed suspect will face no criminal charges

Two Thornton constabulary officers who fired their weapons astatine an equipped fishy who pointed a weapon astatine them volition not look transgression charges, according to the Adams County District Attorney.

On April 9, officers Zac Crowe and Lindsay Hinton fired astatine Raymond Quintana aft the fishy crashed a conveyance portion eluding police, according to a determination missive connected the shooting released Thursday by the DA’s office.

Quintana, arsenic helium fled connected foot, pointed a handgun astatine the officers, who opened fire, according to the letter. Hinton fired 1 changeable and Crowe fired five.

The officers were pursuing Quintana who was suspected of stealing coins from an flat analyzable laundry and pointing a weapon into the look of a backstage information serviceman who tried to intervene. The conveyance Quintana was driving crashed adjacent East 115th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.

Hinton and Crowe, the archetypal officers to get astatine the crash, parked their patrol cars surrounding the conveyance connected Colorado Boulevard arsenic postulation passed. The officers got retired of their vehicles with guns drawn. Quintana got retired of the crashed vehicle, with a weapon successful his close hand, and stood connected apical of the hood. “Officer Hinton yelled, ‘He’s got a gun!’ Within seconds, some Officers Hinton and Crowe fired their weapons astatine the suspect,” the missive said.

Crowe told investigators that Quintana pointed a weapon straight astatine Hinton, according to the letter. Earlier, successful the flat analyzable earlier the conveyance pursuit, Quintana had pointed a weapon astatine Crowe during a ft chase.

The officers’ shots appeared to person missed Quintana, who jumped a obstruction and past eluded police.

On April 14, Thornton and Westminster constabulary served a hunt warrant for Quintana astatine a Westminster apartment. After astir 3 hours of negotiations for his surrender, constabulary entered the flat and found Quintana dead. “Mr. Quintana took his ain life,” the missive said.

An autopsy revealed that Quintana had suffered a non-lethal perforating weapon changeable coiled to the leg, apt from the officers’ weapon occurrence connected April 9 aft the crash.

“In this case, the progressive constabulary officers were initially engaged successful the people of their duties to hunt for and apprehend a suspected coin thief who threatened a information defender with a handgun,” the missive said. “Consequently, the officers’ pursuit of Mr. Quintana was for aggregate felonies involving behaviour including the usage oregon threatened usage of deadly carnal force.

“Based connected the grounds presented and the applicable Colorado law, determination is nary tenable likelihood of occurrence of proving the elements of immoderate transgression beyond a tenable uncertainty arsenic it relates to the instrumentality enforcement officers progressive successful this incident. Therefore, determination volition beryllium nary transgression charges filed against these officers.”