AURORA, Colo. — The Aurora Police Department (APD) said it filed an arrest warrant recommending a second-degree murder charge for a former Greenwood Village Police officer in the deadly shooting of a teen.
APD said 17-year-old Peyton Blitstein died after exchanging gunshots with 36-year-old Adam Holen around 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 24 in the 4900 block of South Addison Way.
The 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office is reviewing the recommendation before determining if charges will be filed.
"I was hoping for first-degree, but if it's second-degree that we've got to go with, let's do it, and let's get him off the streets and prosecute to the fullest," Peyton's father, Todd Blitstein, said Monday.
After interviewing witnesses, detectives determined the incident started with an argument between the former officer and a group of teenagers over alleged careless driving in the neighborhood.
Security video from a neighbor's Ring camera shows Holen in a truck. It captures Holen getting out and walking behind the back of a car.
"The single most important factor was who was the initial aggressor," 9NEWS Legal Expert Scott Robinson said. "An initial aggressor cannot use deadly force unless they retreat and communicate that retreat to the other people."
Robinson said if investigators determine Holen was the primary aggressor, then he didn't have the right to use deadly force, even as self defense.
> The shooting was caught on the doorbell camera of a nearby home. Warning: This video contains images and audio that may be difficult for some people to watch, including graphic language and gun violence.
Blitstein said police officers knocked on his door at 4:30 on Thanksgiving morning to tell him about his son.
"I don’t know if there will ever be a Thanksgiving again," he said. "I know during Christmas we are planning on having dinner and we will leave Peyton’s chair empty, but the time that this has happened has completely ruined our holidays."
Blitstein described his son as an energetic and caring kid who loved the military.
"He was big on family time, big on spending on the holidays with us," he said.
Holen used to be an officer with Greenwood Village Police Department (GVPD) and is not currently employed by any law enforcement agency.
According to GVPD records, Holen joined the department in August 2016 and resigned on Nov. 1 of this year.
"I have put a lot of thought into this decision and decided that it is time for me to move on from law enforcement," Holen wrote in his resignation letter. "This decision is in my family's best interest."
Holen was not the subject of any internal investigations regarding alleged misconduct involving a member of the public during his tenure with the agency, Police Chief Dustin Varney said.
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