A former Adams County sheriff’s deputy ordered to prison for breaking the jaw of a restrained 15-year-old is being released after serving a fraction of his sentence.
David Morrow was granted an early release Thursday after serving less than a year of a 5-year term stemming from the 2011 case, according to court documents.
Morrow was convicted last year of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon after he hit — with a closed fist — a restrained 15-year-old boy inside the back of an ambulance.
The night of the incident, Morrow and other deputies were responding to a house party. The teenager was highly intoxicated and combative, according to court records, and refused to give authorities contact information for his parents.
While the teen’s hands and feet were strapped down on an ambulance gurney, Morrow punched the 15-year-old in the face, breaking his jaw.
Before he got out of the ambulance, according to court records, Morrow said to paramedics: “Nobody saw anything, right?”
District Court Judge Katherine Delgado, who presided over Morrow’s trial and sentenced him, made her Thursday decision based on Morrow’s good behavior as an inmate, according to court documents.
Morrow was originally charged with child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, assault, witness tampering and official oppression.
Morrow was fired from the sheriff’s department after he was charged. At the time, Sheriff Doug Darr said, “This is an unfortunate day for the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.”
Attempts to reach Morrow’s attorney for comment were unsuccessful.
Ryan Parker: 303-954-2409, rparker@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ryanparkerdp