Losing a loved one is always hard, but even more so when a life is lost in a tragic manner. Such was the reality for the family of 27-year-old Jack Jacquez “who was fatally shot in the back by an on-duty officer” in front of his mother. As a result of his tragic death, his family filed a lawsuit against the now ex-officer, the city of Rocky Ford, and former Chief Frank Gallegos. Fortunately for the family, the lawsuit has now been settled with the city. The lawsuit itself sought “an unspecified amount of money for excessive force and violations of constitutional rights.”
Losing a loved one is always hard, but even more so when a life is lost in a tragic manner. Such was the reality for the family of 27-year-old Jack Jacquez “who was fatally shot in the back by an on-duty officer” in front of his mother. As a result of his tragic death, his family filed a lawsuit against the now ex-officer, the city of Rocky Ford, and former Chief Frank Gallegos. Fortunately for the family, the lawsuit has now been settled with the city. The lawsuit itself sought “an unspecified amount of money for excessive force and violations of constitutional rights.”
So what happened to warrant the lawsuit in the first place? Well, back on October 12, 2014, Jack knocked on his mother’s door around 2 a.m. His mother, Viola Jacquez, went to let him in. However, as her son walked into the kitchen, she saw James Ashby “angrily following him, raise a gun inches from her head and shoot Jack twice in the back.” According to Viola and the lawsuit, as her son “lay dying on the floor, the officer fired an orange stream of pepper spray at his back before hurrying out.”
But why was Ashby so upset? What caused his rage? According to Viola, before the shooting, she “saw her son struggle with Ashby over a skateboard before her son let go and walked away.” He was returning home from a haircut at a friend’s house.
When questioned about his actions, Ashby claimed “he thought Jack Jacquez was a burglar,” though other officials argued that Ashby had no reason to believe the young man was “committing a crime.” As a result, he was found guilty of murder and “sentenced to 16 years in prison.” It turns out, though, that Ashby had a history of poor behavior before he murdered Jacquez. According to the Denver Post, Ashby had “been accused of professional misconduct several times at his previous policing job and was already at the center of an excessive-force investigation.” In fact, according to the Denver Post, Ashby was merely “one of several at the Rocky Ford Police Department who had problems at former jobs or had criminal convictions that might have kept them from being hired at bigger departments or in other states.”
With a history of employing cops with a history of professional misconduct and other charges, it’s unsurprising that the courts sided with Jack’s family and awarded a settlement.
Sources:
Family of Jack Jacquez reaches settlement with ex-cop James Ashby and city of Rocky Ford
Settlement awarded to family of man shot by former Rocky Ford police officer
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