Off-duty Adams County deputy arrested for assault after fight outside of a Walmart
THORNTON, Colo. (KDVR) — An Adam’s County Sheriff’s deputy was booked Wednesday on pending assault charges related to a fight outside of a Thornton Walmart.
Ezekiel Spotts, 50, is a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office and was off-duty at the time of the incident.
Erika Smith, her mom Linda Hurley and her 3-month-old daughter were all walking out of the Walmart on East 128th Avenue when they said Spotts cut them off at the entrance. They exchanged words and then things got physical. The women said during the entire altercation Spotts said he was a cop.
“Not in my lifetime did I think I would be choked out to that point, especially from somebody who claims to be an officer,” Smith said.
After the fight at the entrance, the women fled to their car, hoping the situation would deescalate, but they said Spotts followed. They said he grabbed the hatch of their car, and believe he was trying to get their license plate.
“By the throat, he throws her into the back on the car and jumps on top of her, starts choking her with both hands and she starts like gasping for breath, like a gurgling sound and then he thinks he’s got her and so he lifts one hand and starts pounding her with one hand,” Hurley said about how things got physical again by their car.
Hurley said she tried to break up the fight, but Spotts turned on her.
“He took both hands and I pushed him off her and I put up one hand and I said you need to stop this has gone … And that’s when he grabbed me by the throat and hit me in the nose, knocked me over backwards, hit me on the side of the head and I ended up in the cart rolling the baby out of the cart and I landed on my grandchild,” Hurley said.
Bystanders called the police, but the women took off for the hospital. The baby is okay, but Hurley has a broken nose and fractured skull. Smith has a sprained, potentially broken foot, bruising and contusions on the inside of her throat.
“It was surprising to me that he would even go that far, it should have stopped. He should have called the police and I should have called the police and dealt with it from there from the first incident at the Walmart doors,” Smith said.
The Thornton Police Department is investigating and said Spotts’ charges are pending. He’s currently on restrictive duty. The Adam’s County Sheriff’s Office said once the criminal investigation is complete it will do a full internal investigation.