A Thornton Police Officer will not face criminal charges for his role in the shooting death of William Skells who was found dead in a residence at 16024 Columbine St. on Oct. 9, 2024.
An autopsy by the Adams County Coroner determined that Skells died from a single gunshot wound to his abdomen from a rifle round fired by Officer Robert Smedley.
Skells had shot one Thornton Police officer in the shoulder before he was shot by Smedley. Skells had fired several rounds at other officers during a violent standoff with police at the residence, according to a letter from Adams County District Attorney Brian Mason, which was released Thursday.
One officer said he felt “we were going to die that day” and at least two officers were transported to a local hospital after being wounded by Skells, Mason states.
Surrounding the house
According to Mason’s letter, Smedley responded to 16024 Columbine St. on a report of shots fired inside the residence and a possible fire. Smedley and another officer were positioned on East 160th Place to assist with a visual of the rear of the residence.
At about 9:05 a.m. shots were fired from inside the residence towards the two officers. At that time, neither officer returned fire as they did not have a clear visual of the shooter, Mason said.
Skells fired several shots from the front of the residence toward officers, wounding two and keeping others trapped behind their vehicles. Smedley, who couldn’t see the front of the residence, received updated radio reports that an officer was down.
“He was concerned that the worst-case scenario had occurred and that an officer had been killed,” Mason states.
Skells exited the residence with empty hands. Smedley and the other officer gave him repeated commands to keep his hands up and told him he was under arrest.
Although Skells had just shot one officer already, another officer tried to engage with Skells and build a rapport to convince him to give himself up peacefully.
“This effort was unsuccessful,” according to Mason.
Smedley was about 40 to 50 feet away from Skells, who had taken a seat on an outdoor couch. When Skells again stood up and began to retreat toward the door to enter the residence, he ignored commands to stop and not go inside, Mason said. Smedley then fired two shots, with one striking and killing Skells, Mason said.
Legally justified, DA decided
During the standoff with the police, Skells told the police department’s crisis negotiation team that the “CIA is doing PsyOps” on his home, Mason wrote.
The shooting was reviewed by the 17th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team, led by two Adams County Sheriff’s deputies. Other investigators who reviewed the conduct of Thornton officers are associated with law enforcement agencies independent of the Thornton Police Department, Mason said.
“I find Officer Smedley’s actions to be legally justified in this matter,” Mason states in his letter, which outlines the circumstances of the shooting. “William Skells had already shot several rounds at multiple officers in the front yard, hitting and wounding one officer, while another officer was also wounded after … Skells fired and shattered the glass on a vehicle.
“Officer Smedley evaluated the circumstance in this moment and worked to prevent William Skells from re-entering the residence, accessing additional firearms and then shooting at officers or members of the public again,” Mason said.