DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — Douglas County law enforcement officials on Monday lambasted Gov. Jared Polis, calling his decision to commute a man who was sentenced to prison for shooting a deputy almost 20 years ago a "slap in the face of every law enforcement officer that puts on this uniform every day, and for those that have made the ultimate sacrifice."
Brandin Kreuzer, who will be released on parole June 1, was convicted of first-degree assault of a peace officer, motor vehicle theft, burglary, robbery and second-degree kidnapping, among other charges, for taking part in a series of crimes in Douglas County over the span of several months in 2008 with his co-defendant, Taylour Moudy.
Watch Danielle Kreutter's report about the fallout of this commutation in the video player below:
Documents in the case show Kreuzer and Moudy assaulted two deputies on June 28, 2008. One of those deputies, Deputy Todd Tucker, suffered permanent limb damage, according to Dencer7's news partners at The Denver Post. Kreuzer had fired shots through a broken-out window of a stolen car driven by Moudy. The men, both 19 at the time, ran from authorities and were arrested in November 2008.
Kreuzer was also charged with several counts of attempted murder of a police officer, but those charges were dismissed by the 18th Judicial District Attorney at the time. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison for his crimes in late 2010 at the age of 21, according to the Post.
"You have served over 15 years of your 50-year sentence. The crimes you were convicted of are very serious," Gov. Polis wrote in a clemency letter dated May 15 addressed to Kreuzer. "Nonetheless, I believe you deserve clemency for several reasons."
In his letter, Polis wrote that Kreuzer's sentence for the crimes "you committed in your youth is disproportionate" because Moudy, who was only six months younger than Kreuzer at the time, was sentenced to seven years in the Youthful Offender System.
But George Brauchler, the District Attorney for the 23rd Judicial District, said during a news conference Monday that the information that the governor relied on to issue Kreuzer clemency was inaccurate.
"The only true part of that entire sentence is that he was, in fact, six months younger than the trigger puller, Mr. Kreuzer," Brauchler said. "The co-defendant, Moudy, who's not the trigger puller, got a 45-year sentence."
Brauchler said that information was made clear to the governor before he signed Kreuzer's commutation letter. Outraged upon learning that Kreuzer would be commuted, Brauchler told reporters he then sent a letter to the governor asking him why he based "his decision, in part, on a lie, on this bad information?"
A new version of Kreuzer's clemency letter, dated May 16, shows the paragraph about Kreuzer's co-defendant serving a sentence of only seven years in the Youthful Offender System stripped from the copy.
When Denver7 asked about that part of the Governor's letter, the governor's office released this statement:
"Governor Polis takes the heavy responsibility of clemency seriously, especially when the case includes injury or the loss of life. Brandin Kreuzer was given clemency because he was a model inmate, who, among other things, established Redemption Road CrossFit (RF2) that operates in multiple DOC facilities, as well as because of the sentencing discrepancy. Kreuzer’s sentence was longer than many people receive for crimes resulting in death. The reference to the co-defendant’s YOS sentence was mistakenly included in some communication out of our office based on a previous misstatement and was not part of the Governor’s decision process.
The letter has been corrected.”
Kreuzer's work in establishing the Redemption Road CrossFit Program has expanded to several prisons as a rehabilitation and fitness opportunity for inmates. The governor wrote in his initial letter, "My office has heard repeatedly from individuals about the profound positive impact that you and this program has had on them."
Nick Wells, President of Redemption Road Fitness Foundation, met Kreuzer while in prison and took part in creating the program.
"I needed to change, and I got sober, and I started changing the way I ate, and started exercising," said Wells. "Redemption Road CrossFit is a program inside the Colorado Department of Corrections that brings CrossFit and its training and its methodology to the population that's incarcerated, and so the belief is that we can change the prison culture through mentorship, accountability, and community through CrossFit being the outlet."
He said while he understands the frustration of the victims in this case, he believes that when inmates change while incarcerated, that should be recognized. Wells had his prison sentence commuted by Gov. Polis a few years ago, as well.
Wells credits Redemtion Road with helping make the most of his fresh start.
"I'm a business owner, that's exactly what [Kreuzer's] going to do. He's going to get out. He's going to serve the community. He's going to continue to do exactly what he's been doing inside all these years," Wells said. "At what point is it the Department of Corrections or the Department of Punishment? When punishment is the ultimatum, you're no longer correcting the situation that needed to be corrected. I feel like it's time for a second look."
Polis "completely tone deaf" to dangers law enforcement face, DougCo sheriff says
News of Kreuzer's commutation on Friday was overshadowed by the governor's announcement that former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was among the 44 individuals to whom he was granting clemency.
That didn't stop Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly from immediately voicing his displeasure at the governor Friday night. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Weekly, who worked as an investigations commander on the original case, said he was "absolutely furious" by the decision.
"It's very clear reading that letter, and it's very clear in the days since that happened, he had no clue about this case, the details of this case, and what he was signing," Weekly said during Monday's news conference. "Further, (that) the governor decided to do this on National Law Enforcement Memorial Day just shows that he is completely tone deaf to the situation and the dangers the men and women of law enforcement put themselves in day in and day out."
Watch the news conference from Douglas County officials in the video player below:
One of the deputies involved in the June 28, 2008 incident, Corporal Mike Adams, also spoke about a decision, describing it as "appalling."
"If it wasn't for that windshield stopping that bullet, that first round that they shot at me that centered that windshield, it almost would have hit me and struck me in the face," said Adams. "If that windshield would not have stopped that bullet, I would not be standing here today speaking to you, and my boys would be who had grown up without a father. It's just appalling that the governor would grant clemency to someone that tried to kill two police officers."
Deputy Tucker, who no longer works in Colorado but has remained in law enforcement since then, said the governor's decision "sends a dangerous and demoralizing message that attempting to murder a police officer no longer carries the weight or accountability it once did."
"It tells violent offenders that even the most serious crime can eventually be excused or minimized through politics," he said in a statement read by Weekly. "I strongly believe this decision reflects a disturbing lack of judgment, accountability, and respect for victims of violent crime and for law enforcement."
Denver7 reporters Stephanie Butzer and Danielle Kreutter contributed to this report.
