DENVER — A Larimer County sheriff’s deputy who fired a Taser at a 28-year-old man running across Interstate 25 at night should have realized the danger of oncoming traffic and could have avoided the man’s death had he used better judgment, a lawsuit filed Monday alleges.

Brent Allan Thompson died Feb. 18, 2023, after being struck by a car when the Taser shock felled him in the middle of the interstate. His family sued Deputy Lorenzo Lujan for an unspecified amount in Larimer County District Court.

“Tasing someone on I-25 is a death sentence,” said Ciara Anderson, a lawyer at the Rathod Mohamedbhai firm, which represents Thompson’s parents. “Taser 101 is knowing your surroundings whenever you incapacitate someone with a Taser.”

Lujan pulled Thompson over in a traffic stop outside a motel off of I-25 in Larimer County for driving with an expired license tag, and Thompson gave the deputy a fake name when asked for identification. When the deputy informed Thompson that he was under arrest, Thompson fled toward the interstate.

Lujan pursued Thompson even though, by then, the deputy had determined Thompson’s real name and knew where he could find him later and arrest him, the lawsuit states. It was dark and there were no streetlights on the interstate ramp or the highway itself.

Thompson jumped over a guardrail and ran onto I-25. Lujan followed and fired his Taser while Thompson was running in a northbound lane. Thompson collapsed as speeding cars were bearing down on him, the lawsuit states.

Lujan yelled expletives when he saw headlights speeding toward him and ran for safety on the other side of the interstate. A man driving a Ford Explorer ran over Thompson, who was wearing a camouflage sweatshirt and black pants and lying on the ground. The driver’s wife and three children also were in the SUV.

After Thompson was struck, the deputy handcuffed him and pulled him onto the shoulder to start CPR. Thompson was pronounced dead at a hospital.

An investigation by 18th Judicial District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin cleared Lujan of any criminal wrongdoing.

However, the Thompson family says in the lawsuit that Lujan used excessive force and is responsible for their son’s unnecessary death.

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