The actions of two officers, who fatally shot a 19-year-old Fort Collins man who charged them with a knife, were found to be justified by Eighth Judicial District Attorney Clifford Riedel.
On July 1, a family member of Jeremy Holmes called police at about 8:13 p.m., saying the teen had just left the relative’s home armed with a knife and was heading to Colorado State University’s Aggie Village Apartments on West Prospect Road west of South College Avenue intending to kill his brother and sister-in-law, according to a letter by Riedel.
LIST: Colorado officer-involved shootings in 2017
The relative told police that Holmes, who has a history of mental illness, said he planned to charge at police, forcing them to shoot him, according to the letter.
A Colorado State University Police officer went to check on the brother and sister-in-law, while fellow CSUPD Officer Phil Morris took up surveillance. Around 8:38 p.m., Morris saw Holmes walking toward the apartments while carrying a bayonet knife.
Morris turned on his emergency lights and parked in between Holmes and the apartment complex. As he neared the car, Holmes unsheathed his knife and brandished it toward the officer. Morris, who was wearing a body camera, drew his gun and told Holmes to drop the knife 36 times, according to the letter.
Holmes advanced saying variations of “kill me now” and “my life is over.” As Holmes moved closer, Morris moved back more than 100 feet, according to the letter.
As this was happening, Fort Collins Police Services Officer Erin Mast was driving by with her siren and emergency lights, pursuing someone on an unrelated burglary call. Seeing the scene, she made a U-turn, parked next to Morris’ vehicle and pulled her gun while she got out of the car. She also told Holmes to drop his knife.
Morris told Mast that he would try to deploy a Taser, according to the letter. As he began to holster his weapon, Holmes charged at him with the knife. Mast fired two shots. Morris stopped reaching for his Taser, grabbed his gun and shot four times. All six shots hit Holmes.
