Body camera footage shows the shooting death of Jeremy Holmes at the hands of law enforcement officers with the Colorado State University Police Department (“CSUPD”) and Fort Collins Police Services on July 1.
In the video, police ask Holmes to drop a hunting knife in excess of 40 times before the life-ending shots are fired. Holmes mostly ignores the officers–insisting he won’t be dropping the knife and that he wants to die.
As the tense scene draws to a close, CSUPD Corporal Phil Morris can be heard yelling out to Fort Collins officer Erin Mast. Morris tells Mast he’s going to attempt to bring Holmes down with a taser after a series of requests to drop the knife fail to hit their mark.
As Morris goes for his taser, Holmes charges, then both Morris and Mast fire multiple rounds into Holmes’ body before the avowedly-suicidal man’s body drops limp at Morris’ feet. A total of six shots are fired.
Via The Coloradoan,the footage has been edited together from both Morris’ and Mast’s body camera’s worn that day in July. The raw footage was released by the two police departments just yesterday and marks the first time that body camera footage of an officer-involved shooting has been released by the Colorado University State Police Department.
At a press conference yesterday, CSUPD Chief Scott Harris praised both officers’ actions and called them “exemplary.” Harris singled out Morris and said he was, “trying to do whatever he could to de-escalate and to get the gentleman, Mr. Holmes, to drop that knife.”
According to police, Holmes was wielding an 11.25-inch bayonet-style knife when he died.
On the evening of the shooting, Holmes’ mother, Susan Holmes, dialed 911 to report that her son was walking down the road with a large knife–allegedly intent on killing his brother and sister-in-law.
She told an emergency dispatcher, “He just said you’re going to lose either two sons today or one. I’m just so horrified. I’m just so horrified.”
[image via screengrab]
Follow Colin Kalmbacher on Twitter: @colinkalmbacher
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