This story first appeared at Colorado Community News.
DOUGLAS COUNTY | Family and friends of Jalin Seabron are now looking to the state following 23rd Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler’s determination that the Feb. 8 officer-involved shooting that killed Seabron at the Main Event entertainment center in Highlands Ranch was justifiable.
“We are not surprised,” said MiDian Schofner, an advocate for Seabron’s family. “We are disappointed, we are disheartened, we are disgusted and we are activated.”
A Critical Incident Response Team composed of the Castle Rock, Littleton, Lone Tree and Parker police departments, as well as Parker’s CSI team, investigated the shooting to determine whether the use of force was lawful or criminal in nature.
Both the Critical Incident Response Team and Brauchler determined that Douglas County Deputy Nicholas Moore acted in defense of himself and others based on what Moore knew at the time of the shooting.
At the time of the incident, Moore had been with the sheriff’s office for 11 years, and served as a field training officer, a member of the regional SWAT Team, on the pattern crimes unit and as a deputy, among other previous experiences, including being an instructor on active threats.
“(It) baffles me that this individual was a trainer,” said Tyrone Glover, the Seabron family attorney.
Despite the district attorney’s decision, Seabron’s family and friends aim to continue to seek justice.
“There is no justification why I should be standing here without my 23-year-old son,” said Seabron’s mother, Victoria Seabron.
Officials gave Victoria Seabron the district attorney’s report prior to the press conference, along with a book titled “Healing Your Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas,” which Schofner threw on the floor during the April 7 press conference, calling it “disgusting.”
During the closed press conference on April 7, Brauchler took a look back at the number of officer-involved shootings in Douglas County in the past 20 years, and said of the 17 people that were shot, one was a Black male.
“I feel compelled to say that one is too many,” said Schofner.
She also stated that as a community, they see when law enforcement shows restraint on others.
“We see when our white counterparts are actually threatening the officers, menacing vehicles against the officers, holding weapons, yet they are still being detained alive,” said Schofner. “Let me be clear: I am not asking you to shoot our white counterparts, we are demanding that you stop shooting us and show us the same restraint.”
Outside of the Douglas County Justice Center following Brauchler’s decision on April 7, Seabron’s family and friends questioned the leadership of Douglas County, stating that it is “problematic.”
The family’s advocate Schofner requested to have a conversation with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Gov. Jared Polis — who were not in attendance at the April 7 press conference — saying, “it’s time for you to use your platform and your purpose for justice for Jalin Seabron.”
“This is not over,” said Glover. “There are other pathways and avenues to justice, and we will pursue each and every one of them.”
In late February, Douglas County Court Judge Kelly Waidler ordered that the body-worn camera, dash camera and outside surveillance footage be released, and both the sheriff’s office and Glover issued versions with different edits.
The 17-page report produced by the Critical Incident Response Team reveals that Seabron pointed his gun, but not at the officer, and he never fired his gun. It also states that he had legally purchased the firearm, and details the weapons Moore had available as well as the noisy nature of the scene and that Seabron was intoxicated.
Brauchler said during his April 7 press conference that he did not believe the use of deadly force was a violation of crime due to legal, evidentiary and ethical reasons.
Family and friends of Seabron claim there were several things that Brauchler did not say during the press conference, but that were mentioned in the Critical Incident Response Team’s report. For example, there was an individual who came out of the Main Event building after Seabron and was holding a firearm.
“What he (Brauchler) did not mention was that the individuals he (Seabron) was protecting his family from, as they stood outside and he was taking his route to the car, had a weapon,” Schofner said.
Glover said the reason Seabron had a weapon was because there was another individual who had come out of the venue with a weapon after Seabron exited the building. The report states that this individual was holding a firearm.
“It doesn’t matter whether he (Moore) thought (Seabron) was engaging in self defense,” said Brauchler. “None of that matters when what we’re focusing on is the objectively reasonable belief of the deputy because he can’t know any of those things when he acts.”
Schofner and the family also claim that Brauchler refused to mention that Seabron was handcuffed by Moore and that Seabron’s pulse was not checked until nearly 40 minutes after he was shot. However, the report does not state that Seabron was handcuffed.
According to the report, at 11:53 p.m., Moore fired his first shot. Then at 11:55:16 p.m. Seabron was removed from the passenger’s side of the vehicle after he fell in and Moore detected no pulse, states the report. CPR was initiated at 11:55:54 p.m. and those efforts continued for over five minutes until South Metro Fire Rescue and EMS arrived. Seabron was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the report.
Moore arrived on scene with his emergency lights activated, but no siren. Brauchler said on April 7 that this was because Moore wanted to avoid altering the shooter as the shooter could take action against him.
During the investigation into the incident, when investigators asked Moore about his choice of weapon, which was a rifle, he stated that lesser force was not an option due to being the only officer on the scene of an active shooter situation.
According to state law, a peace officer is justified to use deadly force “if the peace officer has an objectively reasonable belief that a lesser degree of force is inadequate.”
It also states: “A peace officer may use physical force only if nonviolent means would be ineffective in effecting an arrest, preventing an escape or preventing an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death to the peace officer or another person.”
Moore did not identify himself to Seabron, according to the report and video footage.
On his way to the scene, Moore did not have information such as a description of the shooter, or if there was more than one, and where the shooter was or how many were injured, according to Brauchler. The report states that the gender of the shooter was not relayed until after Moore had encountered Seabron.
While the state statute does state that an officer should identify themselves, give a clear verbal warning before using deadly force with enough time for the warning to be observed, it also states that unless doing so would put the officer or other people at risk of injury or death.
“He gave no time for Jalin to comply,” said the family’s attorney, Glover. “By the time Jalin even realizes what’s going on, if he ever truly did, he’s getting shot. That’s not justifiable.”
Although the 23rd Judicial District has made its decision, the sheriff’s office has an internal affairs investigation underway.
Glover said this is the sheriff’s office’s opportunity to still do something.
“They can still, through their own mechanism, hold this officer, Nick Moore, accountable,” Glover said.