An Adams County sheriff’s deputy was arrested Thursday on an assault charge stemming from an on-duty incident in Brighton.
James Cook, 33, is suspected of second-degree assault stemming from an incident last month in which a domestic violence suspect plunged from a rooftop and was injured.
On the afternoon of March 21, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the 12000 block of Weld County Road 4 in Brighton. When deputies arrived, Brighton police and Adams County deputies were at the scene.
The domestic violence suspect, Alejandro Martinez, 24, had climbed onto a rooftop and refused orders to come down, according to a Weld County sheriff’s news release.
Cook, assigned to a police dog unit, climbed onto the roof with his dog to take Martinez into custody. A confrontation ensued, according to the release, and Martinez “fell off the roof.”
He was taken to the Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette. Martinez was arrested on suspicion of criminal mischief, third-degree assault, obstruction of a police officer and domestic violence.
Witnesses to the rooftop confrontation, however, told investigators that Cook had “physically forced” Martinez off of the roof.
“The Weld County Sheriff’s Office conducted a full and thorough investigation of the incident, examining the physical evidence at the scene and questioning all who were present at the incident,” the release said. “The investigation resulted in the arrest of the accused deputy.”
