Meet Jack Jacquez Jr. Jack was 27 years old at the time of his death. Everyone involved in the incident is saddened by Jack's untimely death. Officer Ashby broke into tears while describing the shooting that occurred that fateful night: "It's not what I wanted" (Ashby_Interview_2.mp3, 22:19 - 23:00). Officer Ashby wishes the outcome of that night was different. He wishes Jack would have cooperated with him. He wishes Jack never died. At the same time though, he was scared for his own life and had to make a split-second decision. While there is no denying that his family and friends lost someone important in their lives, it might have all been prevented if Jack had just cooperated and followed lawful orders from an on duty Police Officer conducting a legal interaction with him in accordance with Colorado State Law (C.R.S. 42-4-109.9).

Throughout the trial and subsequent court proceedings, Ashby's integrity and character were slandered by the media, the prosecutors, and by Jack's own family. Simultaneously, those same people portrayed Jack as an innocent kid caught in the crossfires of an angry mad man. This couldn't be further from the truth. The objective of this character review is not to slander Jack's character and legacy. This is to tell the other side of the story. It is to bring to light the type of person Jack was, as described by his own family. Most of the statements below are based on interviews and testimony from his mother Viola, whom the courts described as the best witness to Jack's character as she had known him all his life.

Jack was unemployed at the time of his death. His mother stated that he was "laid off" from his last job that he held two years before his death (Viola audio interview, 06:48 - 07:20).

Viola filed for disability on her son's behalf because she believed that he suffered from bi-polar disorder. She described his disorder as periods of "peaking". She said that his "anger would grow" and when he peaked, his "anger would blow". Mariah said that "he had the bi-polar symptoms" and "he could be happy one minute, and one little thing could set him off". (Mariah audio interview, 04:10 - 4:50). Viola said that normally he would go out and hit a few trees to try to get it out of him. According to her, he had anger management issues when he couldn't do something or got frustrated. She characterized him by saying he was "like a child in a man's body". He was very much immature. When he was frustrated, he would strike out on himself. If his mom wasn't there to go through it with him, it wasn't easy. She said he would scream, hit himself or objects. He would even lash out at her. She said there were "so many incidents" of him being abusive towards her whenever he was "triggered". Since he was five years old, his father gave him a severe beating and she never took him to the hospital or reported the incident to the police. Ever since this incident, Jack was never the same. (Viola audio interview, 07:20 - 11:55).

Officer Garrett, with the Rocky Ford Police Department, described having previous encounters with Jack Jacquez. He stated that Jack "could be excitable" and that "officer presence could irritate him". He also said that he had seen Jack "get Boisterous before". (Officer Garrett audio interview, 21:09 - 23:02).

When Jack was 19 years old, he went to visit his father. Viola was called and had to go pick Jack up because he was involved in an altercation with his father. She said his frustration and anger started when he was 5 years old and it got worse as he got older. As a child, he was a patient at a mental health facility. "A child does not act like that". While describing Jack's violence towards her, Viola said that he first pushed and shoved her when he was 12 or 13. "When he shoved or pushed people, it was like 'get out of my way'". If he was in a "confined box, he needed to express his anger". Viola said he would push and shove her when she would "call the cops on him". (Viola audio interview, 12:09 - 15:53).

Another altercation with his father at the age of 19 resulted in Jack suffering a broken eardrum. The fight had occurred while Jack and his father were drinking alcohol together. Jack drove back to his mother's home while intoxicated. On his way home, he stopped at a gas station and left without paying. Upon arriving at his mother's house, he was stopped by a police officer. Jack woke his mother up by saying "mom, mom" at the door (very similar to the night of the shooting). When Viola came to the door, the officer allowed her to calm him down before taking him to the police station. While describing this story, Viola said: "Being a mother I was always trying to protect him". (Viola audio interview, 19:10 - 21:05).

When describing his fighting, Viola said: "Oh no, my son never backed down". She described a story of a man approaching Jack in Wal-Mart with a baby in his arms, and she had to get "Jack to puff down, because he was just wanting to go". She said that she had to provide "protection all the time, because people were just always picking on him". (Viola audio interview, 25:01 - 26:16).

When asked if Jack was on any kind of medication, she said that "when he smoked marijuana, it would calm him down". He would smoke marijuana every other day. If he felt like he was going to have "an episode", he would smoke to calm down. She further described that while playing video games, if the controller broke, he would get angry. His anxiety would build up to an anger. She said, "he would sit with me and talk with me; I chose my words wisely". She said that on the night of the shooting: "If I would have had a chance, I would have been able to work through it. I've done it before with officers." (Viola audio interview, 16:05 - 19:10).

When asked about her son's drinking habits, Viola stated that "he drank, he smoked". She said: "His drinking when he turned 21 was way out of hand, way out of hand". After he turned 23, she began to calm him down. She said, "it was a drinking problem", and as long as he became a hermit, "he could control it". At the time of the shooting he had a couple of marijuana plants that someone gave him recently, and she "had no idea what he was going to do with them". (Viola audio interview, 21:05 - 23:32).

Julian was his best friend. He had known Julian since he was 13 and "that's when all the problems started", and "him and Julian were terrors". Viola discontinued Jack's cell phone service because "there were so many problems, people always wanting to fight". She further said: "It was one of the ways of protecting him". (Viola audio interview, 23:32 - 24:50).

Viola said that whenever Jack and his fiance Mariah would go anywhere, she would drive, because "he respected that his license was taken away". She said that whenever they would go out at night, her anxiety would go up because she "worried about accidents and hoping they get home safe". (Viola audio interview, 29:47 - 30:35).

Mariah said that while dating Jack, her car was stolen. (Mariah audio interview, 02:40 - 03:05). Mariah said that the only thing stressing Jack was that they had a baby on the way, and about 3 years ago his daughter was murdered. (Mariah audio interview, 09:52 - 10:50).

Describing the couple of nights prior to the shooting, she said that he arrived home "after being out all night" at 8 am two consecutive days before. After returning home from a wedding shower at 8:30 pm, she was asked by Jack to take him to his friend Julian's house with his skateboard in his hands. (Viola audio interview, 26:16 - 28:36). While describing the night of the shooting, Viola said that she dropped Jack off at his friend Julian's house. When he was leaving the car, she said that she told him "that I didn't want him getting crazy or out of hand, and that I wanted him to behave". She said that she told him she didn't want him drinking, because he was with Julian and Julian was an alcoholic. Jack told her "no mom, no mom, I'm not going to be doing any of that". (Viola audio interview, 34:20 - 35:24). Mariah said that the night of the shooting, Jack was not drinking. (Mariah audio interview, 08:09 - 08:18). Mariah said that Jack last smoked marijuana at his friend's house the night before the shooting at around 2-3 am (Mariah audio interview, 13:30 - 13:50).

The comments made by those closest to Jack paint a very different picture then what was previously portrayed by the media, courts, and prosecutors. Considering that Viola and Mariah were the closest people to Jack, their statements regarding his character and behavior should hold significant weight. They describe him as having anger issues, bi-polar disorder, child-like behavior, substance abuse issues, and fighting tendencies. This is the picture they painted using their own words merely hours after he had passed away. After listening to their statements, it is hard not to feel that while describing Jack's character, they are trying to show restraint. Almost as if they are trying to hide who he really was. Almost as if they are trying to "protect" him. While it would be understandable that they would try to shield the worst of his character concerns, it hinders Officer Ashby's right to a fair and impartial trial.

Jack's drug use was never denied. Viola and Mariah both mentioned how he would smoke marijuana on a regular basis. While marijuana use is now legal in the state of Colorado, it wasn't at the time of these events. They mentioned how he would smoke marijuana to calm himself down from an "episode". Viola described that she told Jack specifically not be drinking and smoking after dropping him off at his friend Julian's house that evening. Jack said he wouldn't. Mariah stated that when she went to visit Jack that night, he had'nt been drinking or smoking. The results of his autopsy that night tell a different story. Jack had alcohol and marijuana in his system. This would mean that he lied about his activities that night to his mother and his fiance. Also, if he was smoking, was it to calm himself down from "an episode" as his mother would describe? Was he going through one of his "peaking" moments that night? We will never know the answer to these questions, but it puts into perspective the possible emotional state of Jack that evening. They described his alcoholic behaviors, and how he would drink and get into trouble with his friend Julian. Who was Jack with the night of the shooting? Julian.

Finally, it should be noted his activities depicted in the slide-show at the top of the page. These images were found on Jack's Facebook page. Several of the pictures show him behind the wheel of a vehicle while smoking and drinking. His family said that he had his license taken away and he "respected that". Another picture shows him posing with brass knuckles, which could be a potentially deadly weapon. Finally, one particularly interesting picture is of him posing in front of a Rocky Ford Police car drinking a can of beer. The caption is very revealing as it is his own words. He states: "Fucc da police an my haterz im jus knockin dez succaz out one @ a time ninja".

These are just some of the observations that could be made about Jack's character. We encourage you to make your own opinions on the type of person he was. Thank you.