District Attorney: Officer showed 'amazing restraint' in July 1 shooting

The Larimer County district attorney has cleared two police officers of wrongdoing in the July 1 shooting death of Jeremy Holmes near the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins. 

"Jeremy Holmes committed the only criminal offense during this incident," Larimer County District Attorney Cliff Riedel said in a letter formalizing his opinion on the officer-involved shooting.

"Had he survived, sufficient evidence exists to have charged Holmes with three counts of Attempted First Degree Murder and two felony counts of menacing with a deadly weapon."

The chain of events began at 8:15 p.m. when one of Holmes' relatives called police to say the 19-year-old was going to his brother and sister-in-law's home at Aggie Village Apartments and wanted to kill them, Reidel's letter detailed. 

Holmes was carrying an 11.25-inch bayonet knife that he had purchased at a Fort Collins pawn shop just four days earlier.

The family member told officers that Holmes planned to charge at police, forcing them to kill him, if they confronted him. The person also said Holmes had a documented history of mental illness.

CSU police officer Phil Morris responded to Aggie Village Apartments following the call.

About 8:40 p.m., Morris saw Holmes walking west on Prospect Road. When Morris got out of his police car, Holmes brandished his knife, according to Riedel's letter.

Riedel said body camera footage of the incident shows Morris instructing Holmes to drop his knife, even as Holmes continues to walk toward him, forcing the police officer to back up more than 100 feet in about two minutes, according to the district attorney's office.

Morris told Holmes to drop the knife 36 times.

In the video, which has not yet been made public, Holmes can be heard saying "kill me now" three times, according to the district attorney's office.

"Officer Morris showed amazing restraint in not utilizing lawful deadly force earlier in the confrontation with Jeremy Holmes," Riedel wrote, adding that Morris put his own life at greater risk by backing away from the cover of his patrol car as Holmes approached him. 

As the situation developed, Fort Collins Police Services officer Erin Mast saw Morris holding Holmes at gunpoint while she was en route to an unrelated burglary call. She made an emergency U-Turn, got out of her car and drew her weapon, also demanding that Holmes drop the knife.

As Morris reached to holster his gun and grab his Taser, Holmes charged toward him with the knife, according to Riedel's letter. 

Mast shot Holmes twice, and Morris shot him four times. Holmes, who was roughly 11 feet from Morris when he began his charge, fell to the ground at Morris' feet.

Footage from Mast's body camera will be made available "once all investigative and review processes have concluded," Fort Collins police spokeswoman Kate Kimble said.

"It is unfortunate that the individual’s intent was to use the police to end his life," Fort Collins Interim Police Chief Terry Jones said in a written statement. "Our thoughts are with the Holmes family as they process what happened. I commend both of the officers for their professionalism in this very difficult ordeal, and I echo District Attorney Riedel’s recognition of Officer Mast’s situational awareness, life-saving actions, and quick thinking in a perilous situation."

Earlier this summer, Fort Collins police joined the growing number of law enforcement agencies across the country that issue body-mounted cameras to all officers. In doing so, it finalized a major expansion to this program, more than doubling the number of officers wearing the small, pen-sized cameras while on duty.

The Colorado State University Police Department is wrapping up a pilot phase of a body camera program and is working to implement them throughout the agency.

In a written statement, CSU Police Chief Scott Harris said the department was saddened by the incident and that its thoughts were with the officers involved and Holmes' loved ones.

"While this incident was not resolved as we would have hoped, we appreciate the actions taken to protect individuals and our community," he said. "We commend CSUPD Corporal Morris’ extensive efforts to negotiate with the suspect to try to reach a different resolution.”

Both officers remain on paid administrative leave, which is department policy, but are set to return to duty in the coming days.

The incident marked the third officer-involved shooting in Northern Colorado since June. Since late 2011, the District Attorney's Office has issued opinions on 15 officer-involved shootings. 

Alicia Stice covers breaking news and transportation for The Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @AliciaStice.

Recent officer-involved shootings:

Three men have been fatally shot by law enforcement officers in Larimer County this summer.

• Stephen Rich: Loveland police officers fatally shot Stephen Rich on June 8, who allegedly fired a weapon during an investigation into a vehicle crash in Loveland. The Larimer County District Attorney said the officers — Stephen Marchio, Sean McDonald, Geoff Reeves and Matthew Sychla — were justified in the shooting. The police department plans to release the dashboard camera video of the shooting Thursday.
• Chet Knuppel:  A Larimer County Sheriff's deputy fatally shot 23-year-old Chet Knuppel on June 30 on the edge of southeast Fort Collins. Knuppel had been involved in a car crash in the area of Colorado Highway 392 near Timberline Road and was reportedly driving a stolen vehicle. Investigators said he fled the scene on foot when law enforcement officers arrived. This case remains under investigation. Unlike Fort Collins police, the Larimer County Sheriff's Office does not have a body camera program. It's unclear what — if any — video evidence exists of this incident.
• Jeremy Holmes: A Fort Collins Police officer and CSU police officer shot 19-year-old Jeremy Holmes six times on July 1, killing him. The district attorney ruled the two officers were justified in the shooting, as Holmes reportedly charged at one of the officers while holding a knife. Fort Collins Police Services has plans to release the body camera footage of that shooting once all investigations into the incident are finished.