DA: Shooting of former City High student justified

BOULDER, COLO. - A Boulder police officer was found to be justified in the fatal shooting of a former Iowa City High student at an apartment complex in July.

The ruling was issued Tuesday in a letter from Twentieth Judicial District Attorney Stanley Garnett to Boulder Police Chief Greg Testa and stated that officer Dillon Garretson had no other option, but to shoot 23-year-old Sam Forgy, a 2010 City High graduate.

'Officers were placed in a situation in which they had to act quickly and did not have time to retreat to a safe distance,” the letter states. 'Moreover, given that Mr. Forgy had already seriously injured someone with a knife, it would not have been reasonable for officers to leave him alone in the apartment where another person was still inside and, of course, there were also people in the adjacent apartments.”

The letter provides a detailed account of Forgy's actions the night of the shooting, as well as autopsy information that revealed his blood tested positive for LSD, THC - the active component in marijuana, and amphetamines.

According to the letter:

Forgy was subletting a room in a four-bedroom apartment. On the evening of July 27, Forgy was at the apartment with two of his roommates and three of his roommates guests. The other people in the apartment told investigators they thought Forgy - who was talking about being the messiah - might have taken LSD.

Forgy allegedly became sick and went to his bedroom. He later came back to the common room completely naked. While the other occupants of the apartment tried to ignore him, that became impossible when he smashed a chair to pieces and threw items at the house guests.

'Mr. Forgy became increasingly violent, throwing punches, biting and pulling hair,” the letter states.

Forgy calmed down for a short period of time, but then armed himself with a knife and attacked the other occupants of the apartment, with one visitor suffering a 'significant cut” over his eye and a 'superficial cut” from beneath his ear across his jaw line and chin. After a struggle, the group inside the apartment fled.

Forgy allegedly pounded on a neighboring apartment door and yelled incoherently.

Officers responded and encountered Forgy in the landing below his apartment. He was carrying a hammer. Police said Forgy initially followed officers' commands to drop the hammer, but then picked it back up. An officer deployed a Taser at Forgy, but it was ineffective when a probe missed him.

Forgy climbed onto a railing overlooking the officers and raised the hammer above his head. When it appeared he was going to jump on to the officers, Garretson fired his sidearm, hitting Forgy four times and killing him instantly.

An autopsy later showed the presence of LSD, THC and amphetamines. The amphetamines might have been a prescription, but the amount in his blood was beyond the typical therapeutic range, according to authorities.

'While this still might be consistent with a prescription, it is unclear how it might have interacted with LSD and/THC,” the letter stated.

The letter includes a thank-you note the houseguest who was injured sent to police.

'And I hope that the person who shot Sam knows that he saved more people's lives in that apartment,” it concludes.