Colorado family files civil lawsuit, 1 year after alleged fight with off-duty deputy

Thornton resident Linda Hurley can still describe the traumatic memory as if it happened yesterday.

"I was scared. I was absolutely scared," said Linda Hurley. "And what was running through my mind is, 'He is killing her,'" she said.

It was on July 18, 2023, when Hurley and her daughter Erica Smith were walking out of a Walmart in Thornton when Hurley says an off-duty Adams County Sheriff's Office deputy got into an altercation with them.

Smith, who has autism and bipolar disorder, also had her baby daughter with her at the time of the incident.

"These guys just kind of stops in front of us, so I go around him," said Hurley, "[My daughter] almost hits him and she says something to him [like] 'It's stupid to stop in the walkway,'  and as she's coming out the set of doors, he screams at us, 'I'm a cop turn around and face me.' So, she did."

A video released last year shows the first part of the incident, where Hurley alleges deputy Ezekiel Spotts tried to grab Erica, and Erica responded by slapping him a few times. Spotts, then, appears to punch her and get closer.

"I kept on telling him to de-escalate, to stop," said Hurley.

Hurley says Spotts continued to follow them towards their car, where he claimed to be trying to get a picture of their license plate. Then, as her daughter tried to stop him, Hurley says Spotts got violent.

"He hits her so hard she's just out cold on the ground. He picks her up by the throat, one-handed, throws her into the back of my car, on top of the groceries," she said. "And he starts strangling her, both hands."

When Hurley says she got in between them to stop it, she says she became targeted.

"He grabs my arm, hits me in the nose, and starts repetitively hitting me in my head, and I completely black out," said Hurley. "Next thing I know, I'm on the ground, on top of the baby and there's a pool of blood."

Hurley says she and her daughter suffered physical and emotional pain from what happened that day. While her daughter remains in a permanent foot brace, Hurley says she can no longer hold down a job because of the effects from the head injuries she received."

"I've got a hairline fracture, slight brain bleed, broken nose, deviated septum from it," she said. "I'm not the person I used to be."

Last year, an investigation into the incident conducted by the Thornton Police Department and the Adams County District Attorney's Office concluded Spotts would not face any criminal charges from the incident.

17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason issued a report that stated in part, "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 report also indicated Spotts could've been defending himself.

"I was infuriated, I was angry," said Hurley about the decision.

"When I saw footage of what happened and when I also saw the explanations of what the cop was saying as opposed to what Linda was saying to me, what the cop was saying just didn't make any sense," said Igor Raykin, Hurley's attorney.

This month, Hurley filed a civil lawsuit against the Adams County Sheriff's Office and Spotts.

"We are suing damages for what's happened to Linda and her daughter. The reality here is that the injuries were actually really serious," said Raykin. "These are life-changing injuries and Linda's not the same, her daughter is not the same and they're looking for something to make them whole for the rest of their lives."

A spokesperson for the Adams County Sheriff's Office says they do not comment on pending litigation, and Spotts could not be immediately reached for comment.

"We want to ensure that there is some level of accountability here," said Raykin.

For Hurley, she hopes this case will help her family heal from this incident, while also addressing her concerns with the use of force.

"Because that behavior is completely unacceptable, especially when you're off duty," she said.