Boulder County, Colo. - The District Attorney’s Office announced today that the investigation and legal analysis of the fatal shooting of Ashlyn Renee Brownell on March 19, 2026, involving Sergeant Tyler Farson in the area of 1572 E. Third Avenue, Longmont, Colorado has been completed.
Longmont SWAT has members from the Longmont Police Department (LPD), as well as members from neighboring jurisdictions on the team. They operate under a memorandum of understanding to train together and provide reciprocal aid to neighboring jurisdictions as part of Longmont SWAT. The Frederick and Mead Police Departments have officers assigned to Longmont SWAT. Sergeant Farson is with the Frederick Police Department.
The Boulder County Investigation Team, also known as the Boulder Critical Incident Team (the "BCIT"), investigated this case. The multi-agency team is designated to investigate use-of-force incidents in which any law enforcement officer within the 20th Judicial District uses deadly, or potentially deadly, physical force against a person, while acting under the color of official law enforcement duties. This definition and team protocol are broader than that required by state law. Following this tragic shooting, the Longmont Police Department immediately notified the BCIT. By doing so, LPD enabled the BCIT to quickly respond and conduct an extremely thorough investigation. Consistent with Boulder County protocol, the Longmont Police Department and the Frederick Police Department did not participate in this use-of-force investigation involving Sgt. Farson.
The following is the summary: the Longmont Police Department responded to a welfare check for Ashlyn Brownell. Ms. Brownell’s mother had called 911 and reported that Ms. Brownell was on the front porch of their home and was suicidal. Officers responded to the residence. Officers heard a gunshot from inside Ms. Brownell’s home. When officers called Ms. Brownell, they informed her that she would be placed under arrest for discharging the firearm. Ms. Brownell made suicidal statements. Longmont SWAT was then paged to respond. Ms. Brownell displayed a firearm from a window, showing officers that it was loaded. The SWAT team was positioned at the garage of the home. After lengthy efforts to convince her to drop the gun and exit the home were unsuccessful, Ms. Brownell opened the garage, pointed a handgun at the officers, and was shot twice and killed. The damage to the red dot optic on Ms. Brownell’s handgun, forensic testing on the optic, and injury to her face indicates that one of the rounds Sgt. Farson fired went through the optic before striking her face. This evidence is consistent with the officers' statements that she had the gun raised to fire and that it was at her eye level. Additional information about her actions and statements are contained in the Decision Letter. At the time he discharged his rifle, Sergeant Farson was legally justified in using deadly physical force.
District Attorney Michael Dougherty stated, “The Critical Incident Team conducted a thorough and independent investigation, which is important to my reaching the right result in a criminal investigation. Based on our thorough review, Sergeant Farson was legally justified in using deadly physical force against Ms. Brownell. Her actions put other people at serious risk and, ultimately, resulted in her untimely death. I want to acknowledge the pain and trauma for everyone impacted by this tragic incident - the loved ones of Ms. Brownell, as well as all the police officers and community members. It is a terrible and sad situation.”
The District Attorney’s detailed report can be found on the Officer Involved Shooting Decision Letters page (https://www.bouldercounty.gov/district-attorney/officer-involved-shooting-decision-letters/) on the Boulder County District Attorney’s website.
DA Dougherty conducts a Community Town Hall after every BCIT investigation in our continuing effort to be transparent and accessible. For individuals interested in the process and findings, District Attorney Dougherty will conduct a Town Hall (https://bit.ly/July2026LongmontOISTownHall) via Microsoft Teams at 1:00 pm on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. Questions can be submitted in advance by emailing boulderda@bouldercounty.gov.