Two Boulder police officers will not face criminal charges after they shot a man 11 times after he fired a 9mm pistol into Boulder Creek and then pointed the handgun at other people, including the officers.
In a letter justifying the use of force by officers Ryan Austin and Ross Maynard, 20th Judicial District Attorney Stanley Garnett mentions the dead man’s history of suicide attempts and drug use.
Austin and Maynard fired 31 times during the May 22 standoff with 28-year-old Bryson Fischer of Erie, according to Garnett’s letter addressed to Boulder police chief Greg Testa.
“While it is never simple to determine what someone may have been thinking after a situation like this, we find it relevant that Mr. Fischer had a history of suicide attempts,” Garnett’s letter said.
Fischer died with a blend of drugs in his system, including methamphetamine, morphine, anti-anxiety medication and THC, the DA’s letter said.
The letter quoted a text exchange from the day before the shooting where Fischer told a friend he would not go back to jail and that he did not plan on living long. Another friend told investigators that things were not going well in Fischer’s personal life and she believed he had committed suicide by cop, the letter said.
The officers were patrolling downtown Boulder on foot when calls came about shots being fired under the Broadway Bridge. Already, Fischer had fired one round into the water and had pointed the gun at a fisherman.
When the officers arrived, Fischer pointed the gun at them as they yelled for him to drop the weapon.
The officers opened fire but the shooting conditions were difficult, the letter said. The officers were standing in the sun on the bank while Fischer was lower, partially submerged in water and in the shadow of the bridge. He also was between concrete pillars, the letter said.
At one point, Fischer fell into a sitting position but continued to point his gun at the police. As they reloaded, he held the pistol as if he would fire it, the letter said.
Finally, Fischer fell into the water and dropped the gun. He never fired a round from his 9mm Beretta because the magazine had jammed, the letter said.
“While some of Mr. Fischer’s injuries were obviously very serious and ultimately caused his death, none were immediately incapacitating,” the letter said.
