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From Me <phz@tutanota.com> Tu 21. Nov 2017 11:52

To Wtroxell <wtroxell@fcgov.com> ,  Ghorak <ghorak@fcgov.com> , 
Rcunniff <rcunniff@fcgov.com> ,  Kstephens <kstephens@fcgov.com> , 
Ksummers <ksummers@fcgov.com> ,  Boverbeck <boverbeck@fcgov.com> , 
Ramsey Crochet <ramsey.crochet@colostate.edu> ,  Rreed <rreed@fcgov.com> , 
raymartinez@fcgov.com ,  Jpearson <jpearson@fcgov.com> , 
Bjacobson <bjacobson@greeleytribune.com> , 
Ackerman, Mark E <meackerman@cbs.com> ,  Intake <intake@aclu-co.org> , 
shindi@coloradoan.com ,  Ericlarsen <ericlarsen@coloradoan.com> , 
Robcolbert <robcolbert@nowaksociety.org> , 
Jeannemondragon <jeannemondragon@msn.com> , 
Earljmontoya <earljmontoya@comcast.net>
Open Letter to the Mayor of Fort Collins City from Jeremy Holme's mom Susan

Note: This email is a public document and should be archived for public viewing.

Statement: My son Jeremy Holmes graduated from high school with honors and was enrolled
at Front Range Community College.  He was a brilliant, insightful person who was in the
process of designing a computer game when he was killed. Jeremy was having a severe drug
reaction to the THC in cannabis. This reaction created a suicidal state in Jeremy.   My son was
never a criminal until the DA criminalized him a er he was killed by the police. 

November 21, 2017

Open Letter To The Mayor Of Fort Collins City

The District Attorney (DA) of Fort Collins City, Colorado will tell you that the scope of his
review was “criminal in nature” and that he determined whether lethal force was ‘justified’ in
the case of the Jeremy Holmes’s homicide. However, the DA’s summary of facts excludes
pertinent details that would indicate there was significant error on the part of the police
including the DA’s unacknowledged use of excessive force. My son, Jeremy Holmes was shot
six times. Provision of the missing facts along with the deconstruction of Officer Morris’s
actions, will reveal that Jeremy’s death was unnecessary and preventable.
 
The DA’s opinion contains a number of statements that were taken out of context, restated
and then associated with false information in order to support the narrative that Jeremy had
created a suicidal confrontation with the only outcome being his death.  This is the type of
practiced ‘spin’ that a DA utilizes in order to absolve the police of any responsibility. The DA’s
narrative leads the public to conclude that the police have ‘no control’ or ability to modify
their behavior when confronted with a suicidal person.  The essential question to address in
delineating whether Jeremy’s death was the only outcome for this incident is:
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 Did police error and/or lack of training create an environment where the only possible
solution was to kill a suicidal person instead of saving them?
I’m going to provide exact quotes (in italics) from the Fort Collins City District Attorney’s (DA)
opinion, published on July 18, 2017 which is titled, “The Jeremy Holmes Letter.”  I will then
provide factual commentary a er each quote.
 
“…Jeremy Holmes had a documented history of mental illness.”

Comment: This is a false statement. There is no documented history of mental illness.

Three weeks prior to his death, Jeremy was taken to the hospital for an evaluation where
blood tests confirmed that he was reacting to THC. This hospital evaluation documented a
drug reaction, not long term mental illness. This was only one time in his life.
Question: Where’s the documentation for Jeremy Holmes’s ‘history of mental illness?’
 
“Fort Collins Police Dispatchers obtained a description of Jeremy Holmes and immediately
notified Colorado State University Dispatch Center of all of the information they had just
received.”

Comment: This is a false statement.

I contacted the FC dispatcher via the dispatch number, not the 9-1-1 number.  There was a
three-way conversation between FC dispatch, myself & the CSU dispatch. I asked them to
deliver a message to my son in Aggie Village because I could not get him on the phone. I
explained info about Jeremy and told them that Jeremy was mentally ill. One of the
dispatchers stated that this fact was “important.” I was then le with the CSU dispatcher who
stated they would call my son.  I vehemently stated that they should not call him and that
they needed to go to his apartment because he wasn’t answering his phone. My message to
my son was to ‘keep his door shut.’ I never intended this phone contact to be an ‘emergency
hunt’ for Jeremy.  If you do not hear these conversations on the tape, the tapes have been
edited.
Question: Have the FC and CSU police edited the dispatch call? What specifically was edited?
 
Officer Morris “…took up a surveillance position by the Aggie Village Apartments so that he
would be able to intercept and contact Jeremy Holmes if he approached his brother’s
apartment in the Aggie Village complex.”

Comment: It’s a fact that Jeremy never entered Aggie Village or ‘approached his brother’s
apartment.’
Question:  Why did Morris stop Jeremy when Jeremy never entered Aggie Village?
 
“At approximately 8:38 pm, Officer Morris observed Jeremy Holmes walking westbound on
Prospect Street approaching Aggie Village Apartments.”

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Comment: This is a false statement.

Jeremy was actually leaving the area where Aggie Village was located. According to the
report Officer Morris backed up 113 feet which is approximately 37.6 yards.   Using the
numbers from this report; Officer Morris ‘intercepted’ Jeremy 132.4 yards west of the only
gate that would allow entrance into the Aggie Village Apartments. Jeremy had walked past
the only entrance on West Prospect St.  Jeremy was approaching the corner of Whitcomb and
Prospect St. outside and west of Aggie Village. He never went in the village and he was leaving
the area.
 
Question: Why did the DA state that Morris observed Jeremy approaching Aggie Village
Apartments when Jeremy was actually leaving the area when Morris pulled his vehicle next to
Jeremy?
 
“Officer Morris activated his police car’s red and blue emergency lights and pulled over on the
south side of Prospect just west of Jeremy Holmes line of travel. “

Comment:  Please note the DA’s vague description of where Morris pulled next to Jeremy.
This ‘vagueness’ was intentional because Jeremy was leaving the area not approaching Aggie
Village at the time that Morris stopped him.
I did measure the yards from the only gate on West Prospect and Centre to Jeremy’s death
site. It was approximately 170 yards.  Jeremy was 132.4 yards west of this gate. He was leaving
the area.
Question: If Jeremy was leaving the area of Aggie Village; why did Morris stop him with
glaring lights?
 
Here’s a complete paragraph from the DA’s opinion:
 
“As Officer Morris was exiting his police car, Jeremy Holmes unsheathed the bayonet knife
and brandished it towards Officer Morris. Officer Morris drew his Glock .40 caliber service
pistol and immediately began giving loud verbal commands for Jeremy to drop the bayonet
knife. Officer Morris was wearing a body camera which captured his interaction with Jeremy
Holmes. A review of the video reveals that Officer Morris was pleading with Jeremy to drop
the bayonet knife.  Due to the fact that Jeremy Holmes was continuing to close the distance
between himself and Officer Morris, Officer Morris began walking backwards away from
Jeremy as he continued to implore Jeremy to drop his bayonet knife.”
 
The DA’s description never gives any specific details as to where exactly Morris stopped
Jeremy and he never gives you any specifics about where Morris was backing up. You will not
find these details anywhere in the document. Why? The reason why the details related to
Morris’s parked vehicle and his subsequent movements are not specified is because these
details will reveal a grave error on the part of Morris. 
 
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Morris knew that Jeremy had a knife and was mentally ill. Yet, he approached Jeremy with
flashing lights and pulled his vehicle up parallel to Jeremy (see video). Jeremy immediately
reacted and pulled his knife up and walked towards Morris around the front of Morris’s
vehicle. Morris was forced to walk back from his door and around the side and back of his
vehicle and up onto the sidewalk.  Morris had parked his car within six feet of Jeremy in a
confrontational mode. Why is this important? Because Morris violated a fundamental training
protocol called the 21- foot rule or the Tueller Drill or the reactionary gap. Morris had placed
himself in imminent danger without back-up. This is why the DA’s opinion did not provide the
details of Morris’s actions when confronting a suicidal person. Because there was not enough
distance and no back-up: Morris’s actions contributed to Jeremy’s death. Jeremy was not an
imminent danger to Morris until Morris placed himself in that situation. A person would have
to wonder why the DA would omit critical information and insert false statements into a legal
review of a homicide.
 
Question:  Is the DA is trying to cover police error in the homicide of Jeremy Holmes?
 
Here’s a paragraph from an article that describes how properly trained officers prevented the
death of a mentally ill person:
 
“The officers took cover and then tried a few different methods to de-escalate the situation,
Talkoff wrote. “Using time and distance, the officers called for additional units. Several
officers arrived on scene and gave commands for the subject to put down the knife,” Talkoff
wrote. The man held on to the knife. Officers then fired a few rounds from an Extended Range
Impact Weapon, which fires beanbag projectiles. The beanbag rounds failed to disarm the
man. A policeman then arrived on the scene and fired a 40mm foam baton round, which
caused the man to drop the knife and drop to the ground. Officers took the man into custody
and transported him to the hospital for medical evaluation of some bruising and abrasions.”
 
https://missionlocal.org/2017/06/officers-de-escalate-confrontation-with-knife-wielding-
man-at-mission-police-station/ (https://missionlocal.org/2017/06/officers-de-escalate-
confrontation-with-knife-wielding-man-at-mission-police-station/)
 
Morris believed he had the right to stop Jeremy from leaving the area, and created a
confrontation with a 19 year old in a mental health crisis. If Morris had been properly trained
he would have never created a confrontation by himself.  He would have stayed in his vehicle
and called for back-up. Any back-up support should have been trained and armed with non-
lethal weapons in case they needed to use them. The public needs to understand that Jeremy
had already walked approximately two miles before Morris confronted him. Jeremy had not
harmed or threatened anyone until Morris created a confrontation. Jeremy had not entered
Aggie Village and was actually leaving the area. The DA has absolved the police of any
responsibility in the homicide of my son. He’s done that by omitting critical information that

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would reveal Officer Morris‘s actions violated fundamental police training procedures. His
actions contributed to the death of my son.
 
Susan Holmes
 
 
Summary of Questions
Essential Question:
Did police error and/or lack of training create an environment where the only possible
solution was to kill a suicidal person instead of saving them?
 
1. Where’s the documentation for Jeremy Holmes’s ‘history of mental illness?’
2. Have the FC and CSU police edited the dispatch call? What specifically was edited?
3. Why did Morris stop Jeremy when Jeremy never entered Aggie Village?
4. Why did the DA state that Morris observed Jeremy approaching Aggie Village
 Apartments when Jeremy was actually leaving the area when Morris pulled his vehicle next
to Jeremy?
5. If Jeremy was leaving the area of Aggie Village; why did Morris stop him with glaring lights?
6. Did Jeremy have the right to walk on Prospect with a sheathed knife?
7. Was Officer Morris aware that flashing lights could trigger a mentally ill person?
8. Did Officer Morris’s aggressive approach take Jeremy’s ‘choice’ away from him?
9. If Morris knew that Jeremy was mentally ill and had a knife then: Why did Morris pull his
vehicle up to within six feet of Jeremy and place himself within an unsafe reactionary gap?
10. Was Officer Morris responsible for placing himself in imminent danger?
11. Was Jeremy’s homicide justifiable if Morris was responsible for violating proper
procedure?
12. Is the DA is trying to cover police error in the homicide of Jeremy Holmes?
13.  Is assisted suicide by cop the type of practice that the City of Fort Collins and Colorado
State University wants to support?

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