Did this ex police officer get a fair trial?

Summary

---

Law Enforcement Talk: True Crime and Trauma Stories

Episode: Did this ex police officer get a fair trial?
Host: John "Jay" Wiley
Guest: James Ashby, former Colorado Police Officer
Release Date: September 24, 2025

---

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the controversial case of James Ashby, a former Colorado police officer convicted of second-degree murder after a fatal officer-involved shooting. Ashby shares his side of the story for the first time, detailing the incident, the aftermath, and the trauma endured through his arrest, trial, and eight-year incarceration. The discussion challenges media portrayals, explores the fairness of his trial, and investigates the wider implications for law enforcement officers today.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Incident: What Happened That Night (03:48–09:04)

• Initial Call: Ashby responded to a report of an attempted break-in. The suspect was gone from the immediate area when he arrived.
• Ride-Along Present: At 2 a.m., Ashby encountered a man matching the earlier description while accompanied by a ride-along.
• Confrontation: The suspect refused commands, headed toward a house, kicked at a door, and struck Ashby with a skateboard during an attempted arrest.
• Escalation Inside: A struggle ensued inside the house. Ashby used pepper spray (which affected an uninvolved woman), then saw the suspect wielding a baseball bat in an "arcing motion".
• Use of Lethal Force: Fearing for his life, Ashby fired his weapon, called for backup and medical aid, and rendered assistance to the suspect.
• Aftermath: The baseball bat was hidden by a woman in the home—something later critical to the investigation.

"He starts pulling me into the home. I'm tugging on him. ... I could see it winding up—he was spinning to strike me with the bat. I jumped back, hollered 'drop the bat,' fired my weapon."
— James Ashby (06:54)

2. Media Coverage and Public Perception (09:04–13:40)

• Immediate Media Spin: Ashby felt the media rushed to publish misleading reports before facts were verified. He claims his perspective was never sought or represented.
• Host's Critique: Wiley discusses longstanding media bias and the importance of giving officers a direct platform.

"The media doesn't care about our story. ... They are concerned with getting attention so they can sell more advertising."
— John J. Wiley (09:23)

3. The Aftermath: Trauma and Abandonment (13:40–15:33)

• No Support: Ashby describes being told to leave town for his own safety as protests erupted, then receiving no psychological support from the department.
• Ongoing Emotional Toll: He still struggles emotionally with the loss of life and how things unfolded.

"I've never met any police officer that wants to take a life. ... It was such a traumatic event already. ... The department never offered psychological help."
— James Ashby (13:42)

4. Prosecution, Trial, and Questionable Fairness (15:33–30:27)

• Character Attack: Ashby was portrayed as a "rageaholic" despite an exemplary service record.
• Deadly Weapon Debate: The prosecution argued that the baseball bat was not a deadly weapon, calling it a "child's toy," and criticized Ashby for not using non-lethal tools, which he says weren’t available.
• Expectations on Officers: The court suggested officers must retreat in lethal encounters—an interpretation Ashby calls "dangerous precedent."
• Questionable Testimony: At trial, the jury was told that the baseball bat may have been hidden by a cat, which Ashby calls absurd.
• Fabricated Evidence Claim: Ashby alleges evidence was intentionally misrepresented, notably regarding where shots were fired and whether he staged the scene.
• Grand Jury Skipped: Charges went directly to trial on the DA’s decision, which Ashby and Wiley both question as politically motivated.

"They said at some point, 'Well, you should have let him hit you and see if he was serious about it.'"
— James Ashby (19:12)

"It was fabricated. Just intentionally fabricated."
— James Ashby (26:27)

• Jury Misconduct: Ashby reports that jurors—including the foreperson—communicated with the victim’s family during trial, which the judge openly dismissed as irrelevant.

"They caught the jury foreperson talking to the guy's family, passing notes. ... The judge said, 'Well, we don't think it matters.'"
— James Ashby (29:45)

5. Conviction and Incarceration (34:03–39:33)

• Sentencing: Ashby received eight years (prosecution requested 48).
• Solitary Confinement: Spent nearly a year in solitary, endured severe loneliness, and found solace in faith.
• Prison Life: Initially considered "a dirty cop" and shunned by staff, but ultimately experienced moments of compassion from fellow inmates—especially during family tragedy.

"I was in solitary for almost a year...I talked to a spider named Lieutenant Dan. That's how alone I was."
— James Ashby (34:54)

• Faith and Resilience: Describes a spiritual experience that reinforced his will to survive and help others in prison.

6. Reflection and Mission Going Forward (41:29–43:37)

• No Guilt: Ashby maintains he acted appropriately given the threat, feels pain but no guilt.
• Advocacy: Runs the "Prisoner of War on Police" Facebook page to share evidence, clear his name, and prevent similar cases for other officers.
• Open Records: Will provide court filings and evidence to anyone interested, criticizing the DA's unwillingness to supply full documentation.
• Call to Action: Aims to start a broader conversation about officer prosecutions and the justice system’s failures.

"I will give you any piece of the case you want, any piece of evidence, any court filing. The DA's office still to this day will only tell their side."
— James Ashby (43:19)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On being labeled 'ex' police:
  "You can decide whether James is ex or not and whether they got a fair trial or not."
  — John J. Wiley (30:27)

• On compassion in incarceration:
  "It wasn't police officers that reached out and said, 'Hey man, we got you.' It was inmates that came to the cell and, you know, said, 'Hey man...I'm here for you.'" — James Ashby (37:50)

• On his ongoing mission:
  "I want people to be able to see both sides and make their own conclusion." — James Ashby (43:19)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Ashby recounts shooting incident: 03:48 – 09:04
• Media portrayal & public reaction: 09:04 – 13:40
• Department support & personal impact: 13:40 – 15:33
• Trial details & fairness concerns: 15:33 – 30:27
• Jury misconduct revelations: 29:45 – 30:27
• Conviction, sentencing, and prison experiences: 34:03 – 39:33
• Reflections on guilt, advocacy for others: 41:29 – 43:37

---

Episode Tone

The tone is direct, frank, and emotionally charged—reflecting both the frustrations of systemic injustice and the resilience found in Ashby’s personal journey. Wiley’s style is supportive, offering a compassionate, insider perspective for both law enforcement and the public.

---

Connect with the Guest

• Find James Ashby’s story and resources:
  Prisoner of War on Police Facebook Page

---

Conclusion

This episode raises critical questions about police use of force, justice system accountability, and media narratives. Listeners are invited to consider all sides, challenge assumptions, and seek deeper truth in stories often summarized too simply.

Transcript

[A]

It's Pro Savings Days at Lowes. Get up to 35% off select major appliances and save an additional $1,000 when you buy four select LG major appliances plus get a free Dewalt 20 volt max 5amp hour battery when you buy a select Dewalt 20 volt max tool. Get the job done for less at Lowes. We help you Save valid through 926. Selection varies by location while supplies last. See associate or lowes.com for more details and qualifying items. He's an ex police officer in the state of Colorado. He was in a police involved shooting. He was arrested, convicted of second degree murder and spent eight years incarcerated. He's here to tell us all about it on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show. Welcome to the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show. In the Law Enforcement Talk Radio show we are joined by special guest talking about their experiences, their realities, investigating crimes, Police plus those who've experienced horrendous trauma. Police, first responders, military and victims of crime share their stories. Hi, I'm John J. Wiley. In addition to being a broadcaster, I'm also a retired police sergeant. Be sure to check out our website letradio.com and also like us on Facebook search for the law Enforcement Talk radio show. You know we used to have an app and it was a very popular app and then guess what? We couldn't hold a candle through our Facebook presence. How many people have the mobile Facebook app already installed on their phone? How many people use it on their computer? Make sure you follow us, make sure you like us on our Facebook page. Just search for law enforcement Talk radio show and podcast and be sure to send us a comment to one of the posts. Best of all as 100% free. Joining us on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio show with James Ashby. James is an ex police officer and I'll clarify what that means. You get this side exactly. Ex or former when you hear a story. James was a police officer in Colorado. He was arrested for a second degree murder during a police involved shooting doing his job. He was prosecuted for second degree murder. He was found guilty. He was incarcerated eight years in prison. He's currently in a halfway house and he's here to tell us his whole story. James, thanks for being guest on the show. Very much appreciated.

[B]

Well thank you very much for having me and if I could have a second to thank you for your time. You're the first person who gave me a platform and a chance to tell my story and you know it really does mean a lot to me.

[A]

So thank you well, the good thing is this, there's so many stories out there they're not being told. And I'll say this, there's two things I want to cover. Number one, policing in general has relied on the news media to tell their stories for far too long. And they've always done a bad job, a really bad job. Now they're so biased in certain areas that it doesn't even closely resemble the truth. And the only way to get to some semblance of truth is for people to tell their story and provide their platform. Secondly, there's very few things I will correct people about. When they say I'm ex police, I go, no, no, I'm retired police. I got hurt and retired young at the age of 33. There's X meaning you left in and I'm air quoting dishonorable circumstances. Either being resigned, fired, doesn't matter what it was, you've got former left of their own accord under good circumstances and retired, either did it full time or they left for whatever reason. Usually health related issues. So when I say X because that's a term that fits, you get to decide the listeners whether James is a former police officer or an ex officer I want to go to. Before we go into the nuts and bolts of your story, James, just tell us what happened.

[B]

So it was mid October 2014. You know, we'd received a bunch of phone calls and one in particular about a man trying to break into a female's home. Where he responded, the female gave us a description of the suspect. You know, he wasn't on the premises, he wasn't in the immediate area. So I went about my night. I picked up a ride along around midnight and was kind of showing a younger potential future officer what it was like to be an officer. Around 2 o' clock in the morning, we're traveling westbound on Highway 50 and I observed a male who fit the description. I pulled alongside him, try to talk to him, try to say, you know, hey, come here man, talk to me. Continue to refuse, continue to refuse. So I went to contact him, activated my lights, went to contact him. When he saw me activate the lights, he picked up a skateboard and kind of immediately headed right towards some hedges. I exited the vehicle and I was like, hey, come here and talk to me, come here and talk to me. He continued to refuse and he starts to separate farther from me. He gets to this back porch of this door and he just turns around and mule kicks, just starts kicking this door. I don't know what's going on. I Get up to him. You know, this entire time he's been reaching in this bag for some type of an object. I get up to the back and I'm like, dude, what are you doing? And around this time, I can see somebody come to the door. And it's. It's a smaller woman. She opens the door and she kind of looks at him and he goes, what are you doing here? And right at this time, he hits me with this skateboard. I'm trying to handcuff him. He starts pulling me into the home. I'm tugging on him. I don't know what's going on. We get inside, I'm still wrestling with him. I deploy my pepper spray on him. And as the pepper spray hits him, it bounces off kind of the side of his face, and it goes on to this woman. And I remember looking to the right in this. I mean, I remember looking and thinking, oh, I just got pepper spray on this, this, this poor woman. You know, I remember like, kind of like that, that initial, like, oh, I feel bad about this. And then I could hear movement back to my left. So as I went back to my left to look towards where he was, I could no longer see him. And then I observed what appeared to be almost like a lighter colored object moving through the air. And I didn't know what it was. And it was going up in like an arcing motion. And as it got about, I don't know, a couple feet off the ground, I could hear it hit something metal. And the second it hit this object, it's this. I would. It ended up being a tool case. The second it hit it, I could. I knew instantly it was a baseball bat. And I could see it winding up. And he was winding up like he was spinning to strike me with the bat. I jumped back, I hollered, you know, dropped the bat, dropped the bat. I fired my weapon. You know, he fell. I called for backup. I called for an ambulance. I ran to my patrol car, I grabbed my med bag. The ride along was like, what happened? What happened? I said, I need my med bag. I ran back inside with my med bag. And as I returned to the home, the lights were on. The females, there was another one in the back of the home. They were both giving us a very. Or not. Excuse me. They're both giving me a very strange, odd look. I noticed that the baseball bat was gone. And there was this brief moment where I was like, I don't understand what just happened. My brain couldn't, you know, everything was happening so fast. That I couldn't figure out what was going on. And I remember just thinking to myself, no, just. Just help him. Just help him. We'll worry about everything else later. So I began to render aid. And as I'm rendering aid, this female kept looking to a room. And I kept asking her, you know, where's the bat? And she would say, there is no bat. And she would deflect and look to what would be heard left. And she continued to do this multiple times. And it was. Then it clicked. And I said, oh, you hid the bat? And she shakes her head, yes, I hid the bat. Around this time, dispatch, or excuse me, around this time, the other officers arrived. Dispatch told me ambulance was on its way. So I told the other arriving officers, hey, handcuff them. They moved the weapon. It's in the house somewhere. I believe she said, it's in the bedroom. So they handcuff him. They bring him outside. Paramedics and fire take over the suspect. And we go and look, and we find their baseball bat in the bedroom. And what's about, I don't know, about 8 inches of it sticking out from underneath these blankets, you know, So I say, okay, well, hey, there's other officers here. You know, policy is that I leave the scene because it's going to be an investigation. I went outside, I handed my, you know, my duty weapon and everything to the arriving sergeant.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And I, you know, he said, okay, sit down. And that was the end of that night. And it wasn't but a couple hours later. The media was reporting. Just. I mean, just. I don't understand where they were getting their information from because nobody had even spoken with CBI yet. CBI wasn't even on the, you know, on the scene. They were.

[A]

Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So, you know, they had even arrived on scene yet, and there was already media reports out there of. You know, I just. The way the media reported it was. Was very unfair. They never got my side of the story. They never even attempted to get my side of the story.

[A]

We're taking a short break there and return a conversation with James Ashby. And I'll say this. The media doesn't care about our story. If they did, they. And they don't care about presenting facts. They are concerned with getting attention so they can sell more advertising. We're talking about. James Ashby's an ex police officer in Colorado. He was arrested, convicted, incarcerated for eight years for secondary murder and is. Find him on Facebook. Look for prisoner of war on police Facebook page. Here's another location where you can find all kinds of news for free. That's medium.com spelled M M E D I U M dot com look for the law Enforcement Talk Radio show and podcast profile on the Medium app and follow it. This is Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show. So much more to talk about. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back. If you do any business on social media, creating content is one thing. The trick is how do you turn those people that comment on your social media into consumers? It is a great tool and you can get more information at. Let pops.com that's L E T P O P S.com Best of all, you can get started for free. Let pops.com check it out today.

[B]

Let's map out this week's amazing destinations and travel tips.

[C]

Honestly Will, I didn't plan any trips, but I did switch to T Mobile with their new Family Freedom offer.

[B]

That's not the itinerary we're following.

[C]

Well, I'm departing from AT&T and embarking on a new journey with T Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to $3200 and gave us four new phones on the house.

[A]

Bon voyage.

[D]

Introducing Family Freedom. Our lowest cost will switch our biggest family savings all on America's largest 5G network. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com familyfreedom up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card typically takes 15 days. Free phones via 24 monthly bill credits with finance agreement eg Apple iPhone 16128 gigabyte 82999 eligible trade in eg iPhone 11 Pro for well qualified credits end and balance due if you pay off early or cancel contact T Mobile.

[E]

Starting a business can be overwhelming. You're juggling multiple roles designer, marketer, logistics manager, all while bringing your vision to life. But for millions of businesses, Shopify is the ultimate partner. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started. Build a stunning online store with Shopify's ready to use templates, boost content with AI powered product descriptions, page headlines and enhance photography. Marketing is easy with built in tools for email and social media campaigns. Plus Shopify simplifies everything from inventory to shipping and returns. If you're ready to sell, you're ready for Shopify. Turn your big business idea into With Shopify on your side, sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com try go to shopify.com try shopify.com try.

[A]

Returning conversation with James Ashby. He is a ex police officer from Colorado. He was in an officer involved shooting which we'll return our conversation if you moments he was arrested, charged, convicted for second degree murder. As a result of this, he sentenced to eight years in prison. He's currently in a halfway house in Colorado. You can find him on Facebook. Just look for prison of war on police Facebook page. That's prison of war on police Facebook page. And you find James and his story right there. James, before we went to break, you're talking about. First of all, I've been in four shootings and 11, 11 years in the Baltimore Police Department. And not one of them, not one of them was like the media portrayed. As a matter of fact, the first two, I never fired a shot back. Second two were totally different affairs, but thank God everybody lived. When we went to break, this guy was in bad shape. They were rendering aid, but he did not live.

[B]

No, sir, he did not.

[A]

And that right there is something I don't know of any police. I've never met any police officer that wants to take a life ever.

[B]

No, you know, I still, I still get emotional about it now. It was such a traumatic event already. You know, then the, the protesters came, the, the rioters came. And I was basically just told, hey, you're not safe in the city. You need to leave. So I had to leave my home. You know, luckily I had family nearby that took care of me and helped thinking like, is, is this, you know, what do I go from here? What happens now? I mean, the department never offered psychological help. They never offered a therapist nothing. They just said, hey man, you know, the stuff is going on, you should probably leave. Like, this isn't safe for you to be here. So I left, continued to cooperate with the investigation and you know, did my interviews, did my walk and everything that I was doing.

[A]

It's different in Maryland than it is in Colorado, but one of the things is that I tell police all the time they're involved in shootings. You don't talk to anybody until you have an attorney with you. Yes, you look at them, but you don't speak, Right?

[B]

Yeah. So I had my, you know, caller, TPPA lawyer. They, you know, they did a great job, but really, I don't think that they realized or were prepared for the gains and the fallacies that were gonna start coming out.

[A]

Yeah, I read some of those, James, and, and there's not a whole lot of information online which I'm always speculative about is like, what are they trying to cover up what you're trying to hide? But one of the things that. That repeatedly said was you're a rageaholic. And I've never gotten that impression from you.

[B]

No, you know, that's one of the things that still really bothers me is so not even a year and a half before this, I was officer of the year, distinguished lifesaver for the entire state of Colorado. Eight years honorable service in the, in the Navy. Eight years or almost eight years as a police officer. You know, I ran multiple foundations. I. So I raced motorcycles at a high level, and I always worked within my church and my community to do that. And the way that they portrayed me and, and twisted everything that had ever happened. There was a point in time where I had somebody come and tell me, hey, the media offered me money to tell a story about you. And I remember thinking it was one of those clues in the, in the series of unfortunate events that happened in this. That I was like, oh, man, this, this isn't fair. This isn't how, you know, this isn't what they, they told us was the justice system was. I remember just thinking there's external forces at play here, you know, that. That are not fair.

[A]

And so much of this is not fair. And by the way, I see a lot of this on Facebook. Just go through the law enforcement talk radio show Facebook page, follow us and you'll see it. And by the way, James is prisoner of war on police Facebook page, and follow him as well. One of the things that I notice all the time, that is, and Maybe it started 10, 15 years ago, we used to always say in Baltimore, if it bleeds, it leads. Especially with the print media. But news and television are the same way. Radio followed suit, and what they always wound up doing was talking about the police. First the police shot someone. Never. The 15 decisions the guy made beforehand that usually based off self that could have voided all of that. First of all, was this guy the bad guy you were looking for?

[B]

You know, we don't know. They've never really been able to determine that. They think maybe, possibly, but they don't know where his whereabouts were to the exact moment. But what I do know and what I agree with, with your statement is everybody said, well, why don't you, you know, why don't you tase him? Well, the agency couldn't afford tasers for everybody.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Right.

[A]

One of the things I tell people and I police way before tasers, and you said, A couple of things. You said the pepper spray. We had mace. And the rule was from the old timers, never use mace because it only works on innocent bystanders and police. It never works on a bad guy.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And so, number one, you're going to be affected negatively. Number two, tasers fail about 40% of the time. If you are confronted with a deadly force situation and you go to a Taser first and it does not work, then you are. You're going to get severely injured. And when you talk about the baseball bat, first of all, there was a skateboard. A lot of people like, oh, it's just a skateboard, no big deal. You try getting hit in the head with a piece of wood, it's got wheels on it and the trucks that go along with it. And there's a reason why some people call them deadly weapons. Then you had the baseball bat. So if you relied on a Taser, correct me if I'm wrong, even if you had one, why would you go to that first?

[B]

Well, you know, it's odd that you mentioned that is because that's one of the things that's a fallacy that they've said in my case, which is setting a very, very dangerous precedent, and I'm hoping that your platform can get this out and protect other officers in Colorado. One of the things that they said in my case when it comes to the weapon was that a baseball bat isn't a deadly weapon. They said it was a child's toy.

[A]

According to who? They're not the ones. They're not the ones that get rid of their head caved in by the baseball bat.

[B]

Well, you know, interesting too is they said at some point, well, you should have let him hit you and see if he was serious about it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which is says someone has never been.

[A]

Punched in the mouth.

[B]

Right. Well, then, so then get this. So then after kind of more of the truth started coming out, one of the things that they then said in court, which is, I guess would be a, you know, later down the conversation, was that, well, an officer in a lethal force situation has the duty to retreat. So according to them in trial, they said that when presented with a deadly object, my job as an officer is to inform the suspect, hey, I'm a police officer. I'm not here to harm you. I'm going to leave.

[A]

Were you in uniform?

[B]

In uniform. So you're in uniform in a marked patrol car.

[A]

Right. So you already made that known, that you're a marked police car in uniform.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

You're a Police officer.

[B]

Yes, sir.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yes. Well, according. According to them, though, this is what they said, that I then have to tell him, hey, I'm gonna leave. And if I. If I come back and you're still breaking to this home, you're still causing lethal force, then I'm going to use force against you. And they said that this was a blanket statement for everything from an active shooter to a traffic stop. According to them.

[A]

Where did they get that from? Because I don't know. I don't know Colorado law, but I've never heard that before, ever.

[B]

It's not a law. What it is is it's an sop. And in the SOP it says in a non lethal environ. In a non lethal situation, the officer should try to retreat to prevent violence. And then what their argument is is that, well, it was non lethal before it became lethal. Right. But my argument is, well, why. Why didn't he ever just stop and say, hey, officer, how can I help you? Why did he flee? Why did he reach in his bag? Why was he trying to kick in a door? Why did he strike me with a skateboard? And why did he ultimately grab a baseball bat?

[A]

We're going to take a short break on that. No, we're talking James Ashby. He is an ex police officer. He was arrested, which we'll talk about in a few moments. Tried and convicted for second degree murder from police involved shooting. Incarcerated for eight years. You can find them on Facebook. Look for prisoner of war on police Facebook page. That's prisoner of war on police Facebook page. This is law enforcement talk radio show. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back. Of all the radio stations in the United States, there are no other shows like the law enforcement talk radio show. And on Facebook, there's only one official page. Do a search on Facebook for the law enforcement talk radio show and be sure to like the law enforcement talk radio show Facebook page.

[E]

Buying a car in Carvana was so easy. I was able to finance it through them.

[B]

I just.

[E]

Whoa, wait, you mean finance? Yeah, Finance got pre qualified for a Carvana auto loan, entered my terms and shot from thousands of great car options, all within my budget. That's cool. But financing through Carvana was so easy. Financed, done. And I get to pick up my car from their Carvana vending machine tomorrow. Financed, right?

[C]

That's what they said.

[E]

You can spend time trying to pronounce financing, or you can actually finance and buy your car. Today on Carvana financing, subject to credit approval. Additional terms and conditions may apply.

[B]

This is the story of the 1. As head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on. That's why he works behind the scenes, ensuring every light is working, the H Vac is humming and his facility shines.

[A]

With Grainger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces.

[B]

Plus 24.

[A]

7 customer support his venue never misses a beat.

[B]

Call quickgranger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

[A]

Return to conversation with James Ashby on the law enforcement talk radio show. James is an ex police officer from Colorado. During his career he was in an officer involved shooting. He was arrested, tried, convicted for second degree murder, incarcerated to eight years in prison and currently in a halfway house. Is best place to find him on Facebook look for Prisoner of War on police Facebook pages Prisoner War on police Facebook page First of all I got to say this and when I left police work I was physically injured and I was mentally injured as well. But one of the occurring dreams is bad shootings and there is a distinction worry that number one you don't want to be involved in at all. But number two is you do everything right the way you're supposed to the best of your ability, the time and things go south. When did you become aware that all of a sudden this was become a criminal investigation?

[B]

I think when I realized things were going bad is when the investigating officers believed the statement of the female when she said that her cat hid the bat.

[A]

The police that her cat hit a bat?

[B]

Yes sir. So initially in the trial they were saying the mother didn't do it, the mother didn't do it. Which we can now prove that she did. But during her investigation she told the officers well I didn't hide the bat but my cat goes into the room and you know, I'm guessing she said I'm guessing the cat did it and that when they believed that statement to meet their fallacy of what they were trying to portray about me, I knew it was over. I knew that at that point I was getting going to get no fair shake that this was not about right wrong. This wasn't about an officer in fear for his life. This was about the media attention that people in that office were going to receive from going after a police officer. I mean because you got to remember I believe this was right about a month after the first shooting in Ferguson, Missouri.

[A]

Climate at the time was the investigating officers whether with your own agency or another agency.

[B]

Another agency.

[A]

All right, so here's what happens in Baltimore. My time it may have changed. Now if you were involved in a shooting, it was their homicide team that investigated you, and you were automatically a suspect in all the cases. It didn't matter if the guy killed 57 people. That didn't matter. They're still the victim. You were the suspect until cleared otherwise. And it is not a friendly environment. It sounds to me like yours was even more unfriendly.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. Well, I will say this, so, I mean, again, we're getting down the road a little bit, but one of the investigating officers had actually reached out to the DA's office before my trial and after I'd been arrested and said, hey, this guy didn't do anything wrong. You know, there's no evidence supporting these claims. You shouldn't be doing this. And the DA's response to the CBI agent was, well, we'll see what my jury has to say about it.

[A]

And by the way, I'm sure that they took him to a grant. Took you to a grand jury because we used to say that was a coward's way out. And you could indict the pope because you don't need evidence, right?

[B]

Well, no, they didn't do a grand jury. They just charged me and ran through a traditional preliminary hearing.

[A]

So this guy who's the district attorney, I imagine he's elected position, he went ahead and made the decision based off. We'll just say evidence that was not concrete to have you charged with second degree murder.

[B]

Well, not only was it not concrete, it was fabricated. I mean, just intentionally fabricated. You know, if you. You know, if you look at the evidence and what CBI said, for example, the DA said, well, Ashby was outside of the home. He shot this guy from outside the home. But your trajectory rod places me exactly where I was, within one inch. I'll say the shell casings were found inside the home. GSR indicated that.

[A]

By the way, for those who don't know, six feet away, that's gunshot residue tests. So a lot of people that are listening are not police. We say gsr, we say luminol blood. They don't know what we're talking about. So I. I do know what you're talking about. And one of the things that we use quite often was the GSR test on people's hands. And, yes, that's the standard test. If. Especially if. If it was a suspected suicide. It was suspected suicide by firearm. There'd be gunshot residue on their hand, up their sleeve, if they're wearing long sleeves, all that stuff. So all the evidence was fabricated. And did you think, okay, I'M going to get the trial and I'll be free and clear.

[B]

Absolutely. Not only did I, but also my legal staff. It said, because initially. So initially the district attorney's office has said, hey, what we're arguing in trial is whether or not a baseball bat's a deadly weapon. That's what this is the discussion about. So my attorneys are saying, well, clearly, a baseball bat's a deadly weapon. There's case precedent for four years that a baseball bat or a blunt object is a deadly weapon. It wasn't until closing arguments that they kind of. They wove these weird statements throughout the trial. And it wasn't until closing arguments and the DA told the jury, he says, basically, he accused me of hiding the bat. So when I went to my car to get my med back, the DA said that I went to my vehicle, retrieved the large bag, I brought it back inside, and they said that I. I planted the evidence and staged the scene to make it appear like something happened when it didn't. Which, again, as we get longer down the road, I think you'll be infuriated by what we found in 2000.

[A]

Already. I'm already infuriated. James, to be honest with you. Your story is tragic to begin with, but knowing that you were arrested, convicted, and incarcerated, I really, I'm blown away. But people need to understand one of the things that, that I'll just go into. We'd arrest people with drugs in their pocket. Their. Their reply would be, well, it's not my pants, it's someone else's pants. Oh, therefore not responsible. And certain states attorneys would fall for that. And even though it makes no sense at all, this thing about. In Maryland, I don't assume to know Colorado law, but in Maryland, if it was deadly, if they had a deadly weapon or one that could cause serious bodily harm, you were authorized to use deadly force. That was. And by the way, you're also able to shoot someone if need be. They're convicted dangerous felon, usually committing your presence, and you can't catch them. So the fact that you were arrested and tried, I would love to say I'm not naive enough, James, to say in this day and age, it doesn't happen with politically motivated state attorneys, district attorneys. Yeah, I can see it happening big time.

[B]

Oh, I mean, it gets even worse than that. I mean, you. Look just. If we just talked about the things that happened with the jury during my trial, they caught the jury, four person talking to the guy's family, passing notes. Okay. Multiple people came forward and said, hey, we Saw the jury and the jury, four person talking with this, the victim's family during trial. And the judge said, well, we don't think it matters because, you know, they presented their evidence. What process or jurisdiction is it okay for the jury, four person to talk to the family or to talk to anybody in the courtroom? I mean, it's, it's, it's was ludicrous what was done. To me, it was, we were even. This was not accidental.

[A]

We were sequestered as witnesses. We weren't allowed in a courtroom until we're called. That was standard operating procedure. Because he didn't want any chance, even any kind of implication that you had any kind of conversation with anybody. I'm, I'm shocked. And when we return to our conversation with James, we're going to talk about the conviction and the incarceration, how he made it through that, what he's doing about today. This is law enforcement talk radio show. We're talking about James Ashby, ex police officer, did eight years for secondary murder. The best place to find him is on Facebook. Look for prisoner of war on police Facebook page. That's prisoner of war on police Facebook page. I really want people to understand this. In my mind there's a huge difference between ex and former police. And just very briefly, former means you left on your own accord under good circumstances. X usually is all the way around. You can decide whether James is ex or not and whether they got a fair trial or not. If you want to be a guest on the law enforcement talk radio show, simply contact us. It couldn't be easier. You can send us a message on Facebook. Look for and like the law enforcement talk radio show page or email [e-mail] that's j a y e t radio.com this is law enforcement talk radio show. Don't go anywhere. I promise you we'll be right back. Don't you hate when they do the bait and switch on you? When they tell you check out a website and it's free to go there and then there's hidden charges. You won't find any of that nonsense at our website. Letradio.com it's free. It's always been free and it costs you absolutely nothing. There's no hidden tricks. Letradio.com check it out today. You find episodes of of. The show is available as a podcast after airing on radio. They're always free, always have been and always will be again. That's l e t radio.com where it's always free.

[B]

Let's map out this week's amazing destinations and travel tips.

[C]

Honestly, Will, I didn't plan any trips but I did switch to T Mobile with their new family Freedom offer.

[B]

That's not the itinerary we're following.

[C]

Well, I'm departing from AT&T and embarking on a new journey with T T Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to $3200 and gave us four new phones on the house.

[A]

Bon voyage.

[D]

Introducing Family Freedom. Our lowest cost will switch our biggest family savings all on America's largest 5G network. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com familyfreedom up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card. Typically takes 15 days. Free phones via 24 monthly bill credits with finance agreement eg Apple iPhone 16128 gigabyte $829.99 Eligible trade in EG11 Pro for well qualified credits end and balance due. If you pay off early or cancel contact T Mobile.

[C]

Hi, I'm Kristen Bell and if you know my husband Dax, then you also know he loves shopping for a car. Selling a car, not so much.

[B]

We're really doing this, huh?

[C]

Thankfully Carvana makes it easy. Answer a few questions, put in your van or license and done. We sold ours in minutes this morning and they'll come pick it up and pay us this afternoon.

[B]

Bye bye Truckee.

[C]

Of course we kept the favorite.

[B]

Hello other Truckee.

[C]

Sell your car with Carvana today. Terms and conditions apply.

[A]

For a conversation with James Ashby. He's an ex police officer, Colorado. He was arrested for second degree murder for a line of duty officer involved shooting. When he's a police officer. He was found guilty in court. He was sentenced to eight years incarceration. Currently in a halfway house. Best place to find him is on Facebook. Looking for prisoner of war on police Facebook page. It's prisoner of war on police Facebook page. James, there's so much about this that's wrong. We can start at the very beginning, but they threw the hammer at you and I'm sure you were devastated when you were convicted.

[B]

Oh, absolutely they were. They requested 48 years. They wanted to give me 48 years incarceration and might as well been 48 years.

[A]

You got eight years and I can't imagine doing eight days, never mind eight hours.

[B]

It, you know, that's. I think, I think about my story. There's a lot of brightness and there's a lot of happiness in my story about my incarceration. So when I first was incarcerated, I was Thrown in a jail cell. I was in solitary confinement for almost a year. I remember getting to a point, mentally. I mean, I joke around about it with my little brother now, but there was a. I had a daddy long leg in my cell that was missing two legs. And I called him Lieutenant Dan. That's how alone I was that I talked to a spider named Lieutenant Dan. But I remember thinking, at some point, are we allowed to talk about spiritual things on the show?

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

So I remember at some point in my cell, I was very upset with the Lord. I was like, God, I've served you. I've been a good man. I'm a husband, I'm a father. And I remember I was being very, very disrespectful. And I'm not going to use the words that I was using, but I remember it was after the jury, you know, after we brought the jury issues to the judge, and he did, he declined them. I remember just being very disrespectful and telling God, like you told, you know, I believe you're going to take care of me. You're going to keep me safe. And something happened in my cell. So I'm sure you've been inside a jail cell and you've seen those massive industrial lights. They have those big, you know, prison safe lights. So I was telling him, you know, I remember telling the Lord, I'm like, if I'm going to be okay, you need to show me to my face and stop. Beep, beep, beep, beep. I was being very bad. But I remember as I stood up off this broken cement pillar, that was my seat where I had to eat at. And I took a step back, that light fell out of the ceiling. And I mean, it was so close to my face that I could feel it on my beard. And you would think that that would terrify me, but it didn't. It was like right then at that moment, I was like, you know what? God's got me. He. He's going to keep me safe. He's. He's going to protect me. And he did. I walked eight years. I refused to go to protective custody because they told me, well, we'll send you to protective custody, but you're going to go to Alaska. And it was a joke in doc. I remember the deals, the protective custody guy asking me that and telling me, well, we'll see if you get to see your kids. Then, like, in their mind, I was a dirty cop, and they were going to put the screws to me every chance they got. And what's really strange about my story is, yes, the vast majority of prisoners, they wanted to do harm to me, but there was these moments of brightness and compassion within the prison community of people taking care of me and welcome me in, you know, guys saying, basically, well, now you know what it's like from our side, you know, And I remember being very confused by it because here I am thinking police officers kind of just said, hey, we don't want anything to do with this. We don't want to get pulled into this. This mess. And then on the other side of it was people who had every right to dislike me but showed me love. You know, when my father died in prison, it wasn't police officers that reached out and said, hey, man, we got you. It was inmates that came to the cell and, you know, said, hey, man. Gave me a hug and said, you know, if there's anything I can do for you, let me. Let me help you out. Like, I'm. I get it. I'm here for you. I'll help you. And I just knew. I knew while I was there that it didn't matter where I was at, what the world thought of me. I'm not a child of the world. I was a child of the Lord, right? And I told myself, hey, man, I'm going to do the best I can do and help people the best I can. Because you've talked about it on your podcast before. You know, when a law enforcement or you're a fire or your ems, your military, you don't go to those jobs for the money. You're not going because the uniform looks good. You know, you're going because you have a genuine love and compassion for people. And that didn't change. You know, I might have been wearing an orange jumpsuit or whatever they had me in, but I knew that I could help.

[A]

Please don't tell me it was orange. Think of the television show Orange New Black.

[B]

They depended on what jail you and what you know. It depended on what jail or what prison you were in, but it was orange, man. When you were in the hordes, it was actually orange. It's true.

[A]

I gotta ask you this, James. And part of it is, and it sounds overly simplified, but there's really no other way of saying it is. I'm one of the good guys. And I take extreme offense when someone challenges that and you start thinking to yourself, and look, by the way, in my mind, it's okay to be angry at God because you still have a relationship with them. I've had relationships with people where they're mad at me for years and my daughter's in specific. But as we've gotten through it, we're still talking to each other, so I get all that. But did you sit there and say, I'm one of the good guys, why is this happening to me?

[B]

Yes. I mean, I would say yes. I never felt, I guess I felt pain and I felt sympathy for what had happened, but in my heart I never felt guilt because I was there.

[A]

What did you do that was to feel guilty about? In order for me to feel guilty, James, I got to do something that's guilt worthy.

[B]

Exactly. And that's what I'm saying, because I don't feel that I did anything that was worthy of guilt. But people, you know, people like to squish guilt and, and sympathy or sadness together and they're, they're, they're, they're not there. You know, they're different.

[A]

One of the things, and I don't want to get lost in this conversation that, because we're going to go into where James is at now, what he's doing today, and it's kind of mind blowing stuff, but there are states attorneys, there are the news media, there are other people. They use facts, races of people involved as facts, but they're often not factors and why they occurred. And one of the examples I use is traffic, Traffic accidents. If it's a wet road roadway, it's a fact and a factor. If it's nighttime, it's a fact and a factor. It does not matter what color skin is. You can't do, you can't draw a conclusion based off facts of race. They're not often factors involved in use of force. End of story.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, you know, when they, when they started to come out with that talk and those things, I remember thinking to myself, you know, my, well, my ex wife now, but you know, she was friend is native. I mean it was, it was very troubling to me that that's the, the, their, their immediate pivot point was white cop. White cop, you know, minority suspect. And I'm like, I remember thinking to myself, what does this have to do with anything? What, what, why are you guys. 99% of the time it doesn't.

[A]

And by the way, I don't know of any police, active or retired that would think any other way. If they use excessive force on someone because they're a racial minority, we got nothing to do with them. Sounds like you're a man on a mission. What are you doing today, prisoner of War on police Facebook page. What is the purpose of that? What do you do?

[B]

So what I'm trying to do in attempting, and poorly at best, because I was gone for almost 10 years, so me and social media don't really get along.

[A]

Kind of an excuse. But by the way, that excuse is over now, James, you got a mission. So we're going to learn. We're going to learn fast.

[B]

So right now I'm trying to bring awareness to my situation so that this doesn't happen to other officers. I would love to clear my name. I would love for people to go there and hear my side of the story. Because, I mean, you haven't even touched the surface of just some of the crazy stuff. You know, One of my biggest posts right now is in 2019, my brother found an audio that they accidentally. So they, they. This captain had called dispatch, forgot his phone, and there's a conversation between the DA, the ADA, the DA's investigator, and the captain of police where they admit on scene that the mother told them 15 minutes after my shooting that she hid the bat. That she hid the bat when she saw my police lights and that she was doing it to cover it up. And that's where we're at right now in my case. Right. They have now admitted in court. Okay. We knew all along that Ashby didn't hide the bat, but covering a bat up under blankets isn't hiding it. And I'm trying to.

[A]

Where I come from, this called hiding it. Maybe not.

[B]

Well, I mean, I think cops have a general right is right, wrong is wrong. And I think lawyers like to get a little bit more into the mud.

[A]

Than we do their job. And I got to cut it short. People find you on their prisoner of war on police face or page.

[B]

Yes. Yeah, they. I mean, please reach out. I mean, that's another thing about my page that different. If I have every you. I will give you any piece of the case you want, any piece of evidence, any court filing. The DA's office still to this day will only tell their side. I want people to be able to see both sides and make their own conclusion. That was.

[A]

Well, I'm throwing a little challenge right before we wrap things up. They're welcome to come on my show if they have the nerve to do that. James, thanks for your service and thanks for being guest on the show. I'm gonna call you former police officer.

[B]

Well, thank you very much. I appreciate that. That means a lot.

[A]

A huge thank you for listening to this episode of the podcast version of the Law Enforcement Talk radio show, by the way, which is a nationally syndicated radio show and we broadcast on over 115 radio stations across the United States to more than 44 million combined population. If you like our show, there's two simple things you can do. Go to our website letradio.com, add your favorites. Check it often you can find episodes of the show right there and the second one involves our Facebook page. It's so easy to find great content, including past episodes of the show. And when you see something that you like that resonates with you, be sure to share it with your friends. We'll be back in just a few days. Another episode of the Law Enforcement Talk Radio show and Podcast. Until then, this is John Jay Whiteley. See ya.

[E]

Starting a business can be overwhelming. You're juggling multiple roles designer, marketer, logist, logistics manager, all while bringing your vision to life. But for millions of businesses, Shopify is the ultimate partner. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started. Build a stunning online store with Shopify's ready to use templates, boost content with AI powered product descriptions, page headlines, and enhance photography. Marketing is easy with built in tools for email and social media campaigns. Plus, Shopify simplifies everything from inventory to shipping and returns. If you're ready to sell, you're ready for Shopify. Turn your big business idea into With Shopify on your side, sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com try go to shopify.com try shopify.com try.