The Weld County Sheriff’s Office can avoid a lawsuit or out-of-court settlement by issuing a written apology to the family of a man who was killed after he fatally shot a deputy, the family’s attorney said.
Weld County Sheriff John Cooke, however, responded Thursday with a simple “no.”
A lawyer for the family of 20-year-old Rueben Reyes sent a letter this week to lawyers for Weld County and the cities of Greeley and Evans threatening to sue if the three entities did not pay $250,000 to Reyes’ family.
On Thursday, the lawyer, Michael Evans, sent a second letter saying the case is “not about money.” It’s “about the value of a human life.”
He gave the sheriff until 5 p.m. today to apologize and promise to review policies that led to Reyes’ death and to discipline or fire those who did not try harder to save Reyes’ life.
Evans said Reyes lay handcuffed in a pool of blood after the Nov. 23 incident in Evans. He died later at a hospital.
Officers fired on Reyes after he grabbed Deputy Sam Brownlee’s pistol in a struggle and shot and killed the lawman. The Greeley Tribune asked the sheriff Thursday whether he would apologize, and he replied only “no.”
