ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A former Greenwood Village police officer was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for killing of an Aurora teen in late 2021.
Besides spending time in the Colorado Department of Corrections, Adam Holen will also have to serve three years probation as part of the sentencing handed down by Arapahoe County Judge Eric White.
Holen, 38, was convicted mid-February of reckless manslaughter for the murder of 17-year-old Peyton Blitstein. The former officer confronted Blitstein and his friends the night of Nov. 24, 2021, for allegedly speeding through the neighborhood, and the two exchanged gunfire.
During the exchange of gunfire, Holen was shot once and Blitstein was shot nine times, according to a forensic pathologist who testified in court during the trial. Doorbell camera footage captured the confrontation and shooting but it did not clearly show who fired their weapon first.
Police body cam footage shown in court at the beginning of the trial showed Holen saying, "I confronted them and I was like, ‘Why the f—k are you racing?!’” Holen was also heard saying, 'Holy cow! That happened so fast. He pulled a pistol on me. Luckily, I had one on me and I returned fire.'"
In the same footage, he was also later heard saying, "And that’s why you carry. Oh my God. .... Good guy with a gun."
Investigators said Holen, who had resigned from the Greenwood Village Police Department a few weeks before the deadly confrontation, was drunk at the time of the shooting. His blood alcohol level was roughly twice the legal limit.
Crime
Affidavit: Former officer was drunk at time of deadly shooting
When police arrived at the scene, they found Blitstein on the ground in the street as a woman was performing CPR on the teen as Holen stood nearby.
Because he had been shot in the hip, responding officers asked Holen for a statement.
At the time, Holen told police the driver of a red Toyota Scion had been racing around his neighborhood during the day and night. He confronted the driver and passengers and told them that children lived along the street and to slow down.
Out of nowhere, he said, “three dudes got out of the Toyota Scion, and surrounded him,” according to the arrest affidavit in the case, at which point he said he feared for his life, pulled his handgun and held it, pointed down.
He said one of the teens — later identified as Blitstein — pulled a firearm and shot him, so Holen returned fire with his Smith and Wesson Shield 9mm pistol, according to the arrest affidavit. He told police he likely emptied the magazine. The firearm held 11 rounds.
The teen was taken to a hospital in an ambulance and was pronounced deceased at 11:11 p.m. that day.
