Susan Holmes arrested in Fort Collins on perjury charges
February 6, 2020
A Fort Collins woman who claimed to have a biological child with a Colorado State University Police Department officer in order to file a red flag petition against him was arrested in Fort Collins on Tuesday, according to the Fort Collins Police Department.
Susan Holmes had a warrant issued against her in late January for first-degree perjury and attempting to influence a public servant, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office warrant.
Ad
LARIMER COUNTY'S MOST WANTED
Susan Anne Holmes was arrested yesterday by @FCPolice Fort Collins Police Services pic.twitter.com/0Bo9hjcyjv
— Larimer Sheriff (@LarimerSheriff) February 5, 2020
The warrant came after Susan Holmes claimed she shared a child with the officer who, in 2017, fatally shot her son, Jeremy Holmes, so she could file a red flag petition against the officer, according to a Coloradoan article. She reportedly made the claim because red flag petitions can only be filed against family or household members.
Susan Holmes’ son was shot on July 1, 2017, after suggesting he was going to stab his brother, according to a Collegian article. According to court documents, he was having a “psychotic reaction to THC in marijuana.” Susan Holmes called FCSP when she was unable to contact the brother.
According to an LCSO letter determining if the CSUPD officer, Cpl. Philip Morris, acted with undue deadly force, the call was forwarded to CSUPD because Jeremy Holmes’ brother lived in Aggie Village. While one CSUPD officer spoke with the brother and his wife at 500 W. Prospect Road, Morris remained outside to intercept Jeremy Holmes if he arrived.
At 8:38 p.m., Morris saw Jeremy Holmes walking toward the apartment. Morris turned on his lights and pulled over to contact Jeremy Holmes. According to the letter, Jeremy Holmes was carrying an 11 1/4 inch bayonet knife, which he unsheathed as Morris got out of his car.
Morris pulled his service pistol out and began asking Jeremy Holmes to put the knife down. According to the letter, a review of Morris’ body camera footage showed the officer asking Jeremy Holmes to put the knife down 36 times. Jeremy Holmes continued to approach Morris, and the officer backed up 113 feet in two minutes.
On the way to another call, FCPS Officer Erin Mast saw the interaction between Morris and Jeremy Holmes, at which time she stopped to assist Morris. Mast got out of her vehicle and drew her service pistol. According to the letter, Morris announced he was going to attempt to deploy his Taser and began to holster his pistol.
At that time, Jeremy Holmes charged Morris with the knife. The letter says Jeremy Holmes was 11.6 feet away from Morris when he charged. Morris fired four times, and Mast fired twice, with all six rounds hitting Jeremy Holmes. Jeremy Holmes “fell to the sidewalk at the feet of Officer Morris.”
Ad
According to the Collegian article, Susan Holmes requested the release of the body camera footage on July 20, 2017; Aug. 2, 2017; and Nov. 10, 2017. A redacted version of the footage was released Nov. 21, 2017, but Susan Holmes requested the unredacted footage six days later.
On Dec. 1, 2017, CSUPD said they would not release the full version due to its “extremely graphic” nature.
Susan Holmes claimed, after Jeremy Holmes’ death, CSUPD was attempting to silence her and edit the story to say “the officer was a hero for waiting so long to shoot her son.” She also claimed the dialogue in the body camera footage and the released 911 call were edited by CSUPD, according to the Collegian article.
Susan Holmes said she was unaware she was being recorded while she was speaking with the coroner, saying, “I’m in the middle of handling my son dying. I was in agony, and this is what they were doing to me. That’s how bad it is.”
Susan Holmes ran for City Council in 2019 to fight what she said is corruption but did not win the seat. Susan Holmes also publicly demonstrated with a sign reading “Tony Frank please speak with me” and “Jeremy Holmes killed July 1, 2017, by campus police.”
She filed the red flag petition against Morris on Jan. 9, according to the Larimer District Attorney’s documents. The red flag petition was denied. Susan Holmes claimed under oath she had a child in common with Morris, which he denied and she later said was untrue in a Denver Post interview.
Susan Holmes was arrested in Fort Collins on Feb. 4. No further court actions had been scheduled as of Feb. 5.
Morris and Mast were exonerated of wrongdoing in the LSCO letter, saying, “The body cam videos of both Officer Morris and Officer Mast clearly demonstrate that Officer Morris’ fear of being stabbed and killed was totally justified.”
Ravyn Cullor can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @RCullor99.