An off-duty prisons officer who fatally shot a man during a brawl between two rival motorcycle clubs at a crowded January rally will not be charged, Denver prosecutors announced Tuesday.

The district attorney’s office said it came to the decision after concluding a jury would be unlikely to convict Derrick Duran, the Colorado Department of Corrections employee, of any crime because of his self-defense claims.

Victor Mendoza, 46, was killed by a single gunshot during the fight Jan. 30 at the National Western Complex. Several other people also were injured in the confrontation between the Iron Order and Mongols motorcycle clubs.

Duran was a member of the Iron Order and Mendoza of the Mongols.

But District Attorney Mitch Morrissey’s decision not to prosecute raised questions among observers, who did not understand how someone could shoot a firearm in such a crowded, public place without facing any legal consequences.

“It sounds a little off to me,” said Kris McDaniel-Miccio, a professor at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law. “I would be concerned about it and would want to know more information.”

Prosecutors say an “extensive investigation” revealed Duran was the first to fire a shot during the brawl, which injured a member of the Mongols.

“Within a minute or so of that shot, Mendoza fired at Duran, grazing Duran’s torso and hitting another man behind Duran. Duran immediately fired a shot at Mendoza, killing him,” the district attorney’s office said in a news release.

Prosecutors said in all, four people were struck by gunfire, another stabbed and two more assaulted during the incident.

Case studied at length

Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said the case was considered by prosecutors in its entirety and that no charges — including ones not linked directly to Mendoza’s killing — were found to be fileable.

Kimbrough added that prosecutors also reviewed several other assaults in the brawl. They also declined to file charges for those situations.

“If new information becomes available related to any aspect of the larger altercation, we can reconsider charges,” she said.

McDaniel-Miccio, who also is a former New York City prosecutor, said she was surprised by Morrissey’s decision. Even if prosecuting a first-degree murder charge would have been difficult, that is not a reason to decline charges, she said.

And the district attorney could have chosen to prosecute lesser charges such as assault or reckless endangerment.

“You have a DA’s office that is loath to prosecute these tough cases, and gang violence is tough to prosecute,” McDaniel-Miccio said, also citing Morrissey’s low percentage rate when it comes to prosecuting sexual assault cases.

She also doubted Morrissey would have made the same decision had the brawl been between rival street gangs.

“Would that have been the same result from the Denver DA’s office if it had been the Crips and Bloods? I would argue probably not.”

To make the self-defense argument, the shooter would have to have been trying to combat someone using deadly force against him, McDaniel-Miccio said.

“It looks like the dead guy had a self-defense argument,” she said.

The clash between the Mongols and Iron Order at Denver’s National Western Complex escalated from a tense exchange of words to a fight with fists, knives and guns, according to police reports.

The brawl and shooting further fueled an ongoing, nationwide dispute between traditional motorcycle clubs and the Iron Order, whose membership includes active law enforce ment officers.

Outlaw motorcycle clubs, such as the Mongols, say the Iron Order often picks confrontations. The Iron Order says it is preyed upon for not following the unwritten rules of outlaw motorcycle club culture.

No special treatment

The Iron Order and Mongols have blamed each other for starting the Denver brawl.

Denver police Cmdr. Ron Saunier told reporters Tuesday that investigators interviewed more than 40 witnesses and spent hundreds of hours poring over the complex case, including video recordings.

Saunier said their investigation was presented to prosecutors as a first-degree-murder case against Duran. He rejected speculation that Duran received special treatment because of his job in law enforcement, explaining that detectives always considered Duran a suspect throughout their probe.

Police also said there was no indication he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“I believe we have done a complete and thorough investigation,” Saunier said.

Investigators said more than a dozen Iron Order members who saw the fight were interviewed, as well as 30 independent witnesses. Mongol members — including the one critically wounded by Duran — were not cooperative, Saunier said.

Prosecutors often run into uncooperative witnesses. Street gang members, as well as the Mafia, hold the same ethos, McDaniel-Miccio said.

“It makes it more difficult, but it’s not impossible,” she said.

Mary Dulacki, records coordinator for Denver’s Department of Safety, said the police investigation into the shooting — including documents and video evidence — will be made public. It was not immediately clear when that would happen.

Duran has been employed at the corrections department since May 2012 and works at the Denver complex, where convicts are evaluated before they are assigned to a prison where they will serve a sentence.

He was placed on paid administrative leave from the Department of Corrections after the shooting but returned to full duty April 8, according to Laurie Kilpatrick, a corrections spokeswoman. She declined to comment on whether Duran was disciplined in connection with the shooting.

Stephen Stubbs, a Las Vegas attorney who represents the Mongols and Mendoza’s son, said Tuesday the club declined to comment.