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Drug Overdoses in Boulder (Fatal and Non-Fatal) — 2023
About this report
This report documents 40 suspected fatal overdose incidents in Boulder, Colorado during 2025 using publicly available information. In many cases, emergency responders administered naloxone (Narcan), CPR, or other lifesaving measures before a death was ultimately confirmed.
15 these victims were named at the 12/19/23 homeless memorial by the bandshell. In one of those incidents, on 10/13/23, the victim was later determined to have died from natural causes.
The purpose of this project is not sensationalism. Rather, it is to preserve a structured public-interest archive of overdose deaths that might otherwise disappear into fragmented records systems, brief media mentions, or temporary public datasets. It is intended to function both as a historical archive and as a resource for understanding larger patterns affecting Boulder’s public-safety landscape.
This report was prompted in part by comments from Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold on 9/28/23, who was addressing Boulder City Council. She said drug and narcotics violations were up 79% from the previous year. She went on to discuss drug overdoses, including fatal overdoses, and officer responses to them. You can view this clip here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/twY2b6ioVSQ?t=5179s
Important notes regarding sources and methodology
This report is based primarily on police reports, autopsy reports, and other public records. Summaries here were reconstructed with resources available at the time. Victim names and other identifying information are not included in this report.
Some of this content was located in part by reviewing police scanner traffic. The Boulder Police Department encrypted routine dispatch traffic on October 28, 2025, ending public access to most real-time law-enforcement communications. As a result, incidents beginning in November 2025 are substantially more difficult and expensive for members of the public to independently document using public records alone.
Glossary:
RP = reporting party
CPR = cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Narcan = medication given to people overdosing on opiates, such as fentanyl
AMR = American Medical Response (paramedics)
BCH = Boulder Community Health (hospital)
1/3/23
An apartment building in central Boulder
2:44 AM
An officer responds to a unit regarding a woman who’s not conscious and not breathing/barely breathing. He arrives and finds the victim, along with her (adult) daughter on the phone with dispatch. As the officer prepares to give her CPR, he discovers she is breathing. He places her in the recovery position (on her side) to help her breathe.
Fire arrives and takes over the woman’s treatment. They give her Narcan and monitor her until she regains consciousness.
Paramedics advise this was their 4th time responding to this woman in the last 24 hours. They say she had been discharged from BCH about two hours earlier.
1/6/23
4869 Broadway, the shelter
5:42 AM
An officer responds to the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless regarding a man who’s not conscious and whose breathing is agonal (gasping). He learns there is no defibrillator at the shelter for staff to use. He arrives to find firefighters treating the man. The officer gives the man two doses of Narcan, which are successful. The man regains consciousness and begins speaking with first responders.
The man is taken to BCH, where staff locates a meth pipe on his person. They give it to police for destruction.
1/24/23
4869 Broadway, the shelter
9:26 PM
An officer responds to the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless regarding a man not conscious, but breathing, in the bathroom. He’s advised the man has been given two doses of Narcan. AMR advises there was a third dose given and that the man had smoked a blue pill.
The victim, who is recovering, tells the officer he was given a blue pill by another man and smoked it out of a pipe in the bathroom. He says he gave the pipe to this other man and does not remember what happened after that.
2/8/23
One of Boulder’s Housing First facilities
A man is attempting to visit his friend. An employee uses a spare key to access the room and finds the resident dead.
An officer responds. He investigates the scene and finds items in plain view including:
~ burnt tinfoil
~ a small clear baggie containing 7 blue pills
~ a brown box containing an assortment of pipes
~ an assortment of pill bottles
~ a cell phone with a dead battery
Detectives are told the employee last saw the man the previous day and he seemed fine. They learn the man who was originally looking for him had visited him twice before for 2-3 hours. However he signed in using only his first name, and his identity is unknown.
The coroner examines the victim. Some of this report is redacted. However, it does indicate the victim had multiple suspected drug track marks in one of his arms, and various other physical issues.
On 12/3/22 (about two months earlier), this man was found unconscious/not breathing at this same location. Fire and paramedics treated him, then took him to BCH. He was found to have a felony FTA for burglary.
This man was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
3/17/23
A trailer park
2:57 PM
Officers respond emergent to a suspected overdose in a unit at a trailer park. They find the trailer’s owner giving CPR to the male victim. The victim has blood coming from his nose, his eyes are open, and he does not have a pulse. Officers take over giving CPR and give the man a shot of Narcan. Fire arrives and takes over medical treatment. They stop after another shot of Narcan, about 30 minutes of chest compressions, and consulting someone at BCH.
An officer speaks with the homeowner and his mother outside. They recount being gone for the morning, coming back, and finding the man face down on a mattress in a bedroom. The homeowner says the victim was a childhood friend, who was homeless, and he’d been letting him stay with him for the last three days. He acknowledges knowing his friend was a drug user and smoked fentanyl.
The report includes the autopsy report, although it is redacted. An investigation into the identity of a homeless woman who may have been with the man when he overdosed does not lead anywhere.
This man was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
3/27/23
One of Boulder’s Housing First facilities
8:26 AM
Officers respond regarding an unattended death at one of Boulder’s Housing First facilities. They speak with a staff member, who tells them she hadn’t seen the man since 3/21 and was beginning to worry about him. She says on 3/21, she let him into the elevator, as he had forgotten his key FOB. She notes at that time he was slurring his speech and seemed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She notes he was known to use drugs like cocaine, meth, and potentially fentanyl; also that he had exhibited physical signs of increasing drug use recently, including becoming more aggressive. When she had maintenance conduct a welfare check, they found him “obviously deceased.” She believes he was wearing the same clothes as when she last saw him 6 days earlier.
Officers proceed to the scene. Upon getting out of the elevator, they immediately smell his body. The odor grows stronger as they approach his room.
Officers enter the apartment and find the man on the floor. His body is showing rigor mortis and discoloration. They find the apartment “garbage ridden and messy.” They find a Narcan dose that appeared to have been used, and additional unused doses nearby. They also find a metal pan with a white powdery substance, what appear to be glass meth pipes, straws, foil pipe packets, knives with black sticky substances on them (suspected heroin), multiple open alcohol containers, and “countless” marijuana containers and cigarette butts. Officers are able to review security footage of the man making his way to his room.
The official autopsy report lists the cause of death as meth intoxication.
This man was 20 years old. He was found dead three days shy of his 21st birthday.
This man was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
4/11/23
1325 Pearl St.
8:51 PM
Officers on patrol observe a small group sitting in front of the bathrooms on the Pearl Street Mall. They make contact after they see one man smoking a “partially melted off-white circular pill with an M printed on it.”
The man grants officers permission to search his backpack. They find 2 small baggies with 0.33g meth. He is given a summons.
Officers meanwhile arrest a woman on a felony warrant. En route to the jail, they ask her about the white pill the man was smoking. She tells them there is a new batch of fentanyl called “White Boys,” which are supposed to be significantly stronger than the blue fentanyl pills commonly seen.
4/12/23
1777 Broadway, Boulder Municipal Building
3:00 PM
Officers and fire respond regarding a woman who’s overdosed. Firefighters give her Narcan and CPR. They are able to revive her and she’s taken to the hospital.
Another woman approaches officers and says the victim smoked a substance off a piece of tin foil, but only a little of it, before slumping over.
At the hospital, the victim tells officers she smokes fentanyl for pain. She says she only took one puff of this particular pill. She refuses to say where she got it. Per the report, “[Victim] said there were a lot of unhoused people smoking the same drugs every day in the same area where she was found.”
4/18/23
An ice cream shop
5:22 PM
Officers respond to an ice cream shop regarding a woman who has overdosed. They arrive to find AMR and fire treating her. She eventually regains consciousness. She tells officers she smokes fentanyl regularly, and that this time she took just one “hit” and the next thing she remembers is waking up. She is taken to the hospital. An unknown man who had given her CPR before leaving on a bike is not identified.
See incident below dated 11/4/23
4/25/23
1777 Broadway, Boulder Municipal Building
4:30 PM
Officers respond emergent regarding a man on the ground, unconscious, near the creek path. They are told en route the man has been given Narcan by an unknown woman. They arrive to find the woman giving the man chest compressions. They give the man another dose of Narcan and take over CPR. AMR arrives. While they are placing the man on a stretcher, he regains consciousness. When asked what substance he had taken, he says “clear” (meth).
The man refuses to go to the hospital. He says he has been through this many times in the past. The officer details the man’s improved condition before leaving the scene.
The man was contacted at a downtown gas station 5/17/23 for drawing on signs with a permanent marker and refusing to leave. While talking with officers, he would not identify himself and exhibited highly strange behavior. They identified him and learned he had an FTA, but one which the jail would not accept. When offered the choice of leaving the premises on his own or being escorted off, he chose the latter and resisted, resulting in his arrest. He told officers he was proud of them for giving him a good fight. He also drew on the glass of his holding cell with his own blood.
4/26/23
Near 30th and Walnut
5:54 PM
Officers and medical personnel respond to a woman “unconscious and barely breathing on the side of the building near some dumpsters.” What happens next is redacted, however she regains consciousness. Meanwhile, in a small glass container on her necklace is a small blue pill which later tests presumptive positive for fentanyl. At first she tries to keep it, but then she smashes the glass container on the sidewalk. She is given a summons.
The woman was contacted 12/18/22 after multiple thefts from a retail store in central Boulder. She had a FTA for robbery and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. She resisted arrest and had a syringe loaded with meth. The total value of stolen goods across all the thefts was $1,445.94. She was also wearing a pair of shoes she had stolen.
She was contacted 12/7/22 after stealing items from a drug store. When the manager confronted her, she dropped the items, tried to push past him, and tried to kick and knee him. (This was captured on video.) She was arrested for robbery. When officers searched her, they found a baggie with 2.48g meth, 2 syringes loaded with heroin, and 7 blue pills (fentanyl). Per that report, the woman had 4 previous unlawful possession of a controlled substance convictions out of Broomfield, Thornton, and Boulder.
5/13/23
Fatal overdose at a residence on Broadway. This woman was formerly homeless. I can’t share other specifics yet. However:
This woman was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
5/15/23
55th and Central Ave.
4:41 PM
An officer responds regarding a man in his truck, per the RP possibly overdosing on fentanyl. They arrive and find the man in the driver’s seat with the keys in the ignition and the engine running. His gaze appears catatonic, and he’s unable to respond coherently. AMR preps for immediate transport to BCH. (The officer is not able to conduct a field sobriety test.) The man allegedly tells paramedics he had ingested an unspecified amount of mushrooms, ketamine, and clonazepam.
The truck itself has a bag of psilocybin mushrooms (2.45g) sitting in plain view in the center console. A small bag containing a white powder (later identified as 0.01g ketamine) is also in plain view. When officers search the truck, they also find 32 pills later identified as clonazepam.
The officer meets the man at BCH. The man is slow to respond to questions but agrees to a blood test. He is given a summons for DUI (drugs).
5/16/23
A restaurant in South Boulder
11:47 AM
An officer responds alongside fire and AMR regarding a man in a restaurant passed out in a bathroom. He finds the man with a pulse and shallow breathing. He yells the man’s name several times but gets no response. The officer gives the man Narcan. About three minutes later, the man comes to and is dazed and disoriented. AMR tries to convince him to go to the hospital, but he refuses. The officer finds no obvious drugs or drug paraphernalia at the scene.
5/25/23
Goose Creek and Foothills Parkway
2:42 PM
Officers respond emergent regarding a man passed out and not breathing on Goose Creek Path under Foothills Parkway. The female reporting party says this was possibly a fentanyl overdose.
Officers find the reporting party, the victim, and two men, one of whom is trying to give the victim CPR. The victim is not breathing and turning blue in the face, arms, and hands. They give him Narcan, which causes his eyelids to twitch, but he still can’t breathe. They give him another dose of Narcan; he remains unconscious but he begins to slowly breathe. Fire and AMR arrive and take over.
The reporting party tells a paramedic that one of the men was going through the victim’s pockets. When confronted about it, the man denies it, becomes verbally hostile, and claims they made it up. He also refuses to identify himself. The other man says the victim took fentanyl and describes his own experiences being resuscitated.
The victim regains consciousness and begins speaking. He refuses medical attention and refuses to go to the hospital. He repeatedly denies having had a medical episode at all. He demands proof that AMR was dispatched. Paramedics are able to convince him he was in dire condition.
Officers speak with the RP, who says she heard one man say “I told him not to take that many.” The men asked her if she had a phone and to call 911. She also saw a clear vial with 3 blue pills which later disappeared. Officers attempt to collect the pills, assuring there will be no charges, but they do not.
6/3/23
Near 14th and Canyon
10:34 AM
A man calls police to say he was assaulted. He tells them on 5/31, he ingested 2-3 fentanyl pills and then slept for 25 hours at a church downtown. During that time, he says he was “hot-shotted,” a term that means he was injected with an unknown narcotic, and also kicked in the ribs, breaking them. He believes someone “injected him against his will because fentanyl does not usually cause him to sleep so long.” He says he woke up today in a park near 15th and Pearl, unaware of how he got there. He says he took 2-3 fentanyl pills earlier in the day (the day he’s reporting this).
The man is transported to BCH by AMR. His X-rays show 2 broken ribs on one side. He tells the attending officer that he knew the person who assaulted him but would not provide the name until he’s “100% sure.” The case is closed, as the victim is not willing to provide the suspect’s information.
6/12/23
1236 Canyon Blvd.
8:25 AM
Officers respond emergent to Central Park regarding a man reported not conscious/not breathing. They find the man laying on a sleeping bag, dead.
Detectives and the coroner’s office are dispatched. Officers speak with the RP. He says he met the victim around 7 AM and bought some fentanyl from him. They both took a couple of hits and fell asleep around 7:30 AM. When he woke up about an hour later, he saw his friend in a “weird position” and shook him but could not wake him up. He also attempted to wake another person sleeping nearby, but that person just rolled over and went back to sleep. He then yelled “Fuck, fuck, fuck” before going to a nearby convenience store and asking staff to call the police. (He provided an incorrect first name for the victim.)
The RP goes on to say that he had taken the bus down from Fort Collins that morning to meet with his probation officer. He had some time to spare before the meeting, so he met the victim (whom he knew), bought some “fetty” (white fentanyl powder), and ingested it. He describes trying to wake up his friend, unsuccessfully. He says he thought about just leaving. He is medically cleared by AMR and leaves the scene.
Officers note the deceased has burnt foil with a glass straw top of it laying next to him. They search his belongings and find items including:
~ another glass straw, and a used pipe in a cigarette box
~ 2 driver’s licenses and several bank cards, gift cards, and EBT cards all belonging to other people
~ a DeWalt battery charger in a shopping cart
The coroner’s office is able to identify the victim by his fingerprints. They perform an autopsy that same day. The autopsy’s findings are redacted from the report.
This man was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
6/14/23 (date of autopsy report)
Per the report:
“The decedent was found unresponsive while lying on a bed in his residence. Resuscitative attempts were performed, but he could not be revived. There was evidence of illicit substance use (small plastic bag with several round blue pills, white powdery residue, and a rolled-up bill). Vaping products, smoking tobacco, and ethanol were noted at the scene.”
“Based on the postmortem examination findings and history available to me at this time, it is my opinion that [victim], a 23-year-old male, died as the result of the toxic effects of fentanyl, and that [medical condition] served as a significant contributing condition. The manner of death, in my opinion, is accident.”
The report lists the date of death as 6/12/23. See previous entry. Boulder had two fatal overdoses in one day.
This man was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
6/14/23
Fatal overdose at 13th and Canyon. I can’t share other specifics yet. However:
This man was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
6/16/23
A liquor store in South Boulder
8:45 AM
An officer responds emergent to a parking lot regarding a man reportedly unconscious and not breathing. Upon arrival, he finds fire and AMR treating the man, who is awake and talking while sitting on a gurney.
A bystander informs the officer that he witnessed the man “hitting a foil,” passing out, and then turning blue. He says he gave the man [medication redacted] and provides the foil to the officer.
The victim is treated by AMR and transported to BCH. He denies using any drugs. He expresses dissatisfaction at someone forcing [the medication] on him, stating that he prefers to be left alone.
6/24/23
10th and Pearl
10:57 PM
Officers respond regarding an unconscious man in an alley. They locate the man on his side. His lips are blue, his eyes are rolled back, and his breathing is agonal. They are not able to wake him up. They give him a dose of Narcan, which does not seem to help. They begin CPR. Fire arrives and takes over. About 3-4 minutes later, the man regains consciousness. AMR transports the man to the hospital.
The man denies using any drugs and says he was just sleeping there.
7/3/23
A business near 14th and Pearl
1:06 AM
Officers respond emergent regarding a man possibly overdosing in front of a business downtown. They find him sitting in a chair; he is awake and conscious but unable to communicate. The officer locates the man’s wallet to identify him. When he opens it, he finds a small bag with an unknown white substance with a rolled up dollar bill. The officer provides the victim’s identity to AMR, who transport him to BCH. The baggie is taken back to the police station, where it is tested and confirmed to be cocaine. It is submitted for destruction.
7/7/23
9th and Arapahoe
8:23 AM
An officer responds to an encampment under the bridge regarding a man overdosing on fentanyl. He finds the man in a tent, not breathing. [The next portion of this report is heavily redacted, however the man eventually regains consciousness.]
The man tells the officer he was talking to members of the Boulder Police Homeless Outreach Team the day before, and he heard another person call him a “snitch.” He says he went to bed completely sober and was stuck by a “hot needle” (a syringe loaded with drugs) while asleep. He did not wake up, but his arm is sore, and he is sure of what happened. The man says he believes this was done in retaliation for speaking with police officers.
The officer advises the man to get some rest and says he will come back later to speak with him.
7/13/23
1560 Broadway – lower area of Andrews Arboretum
1:31 PM
An officer responds emergent regarding a man not conscious/not breathing due to a suspected fentanyl overdose. He locates the victim in the arboretum, not breathing. He gives the man Narcan and begins CPR. After about a minute, the man begins gasping. The officer gives him another dose of Narcan. The man stops breathing altogether. The officer continues CPR. AMR arrives about 60 seconds later and takes over. Fire arrives as well. The man recovers and is taken to BCH. The reporting party advises he saw the victim smoking fentanyl a short time before calling for help.
7/21/23
A business on University Hill
11:24 PM
Officers respond regarding a man unconscious but breathing and possibly overdosing. They find the man on the ground in the bathroom. He is unconscious but appears to be snoring.
Officers speak with the man’s girlfriend. She says he only drank one margarita at dinner and does not believe he used any drugs.
AMR decides to take the man to BCH. They advise he had drug paraphernalia and a glass container with what appeared to be cocaine. An officer provides the woman, who has been drinking, a courtesy transport to the hospital.
8/3/23
Near 16th and Canyon
3:50 PM
Officers and paramedics conduct a medical call regarding a man who is unconscious. They find the man dead, laying face down on his stomach with flies flying around his head and back. They note he is stiff and cold to the touch. (Some details are redacted here.)
Officers speak with the RP, who saw the man as she was walking her dog. She could not tell if he was breathing, but she was concerned and called police.
A construction worker tells officers he saw the man earlier and thought he was taking a nap. His coworker says he didn’t think anything was wrong because they had seen people laying in the grass before. However, he did find it strange when it started raining and the man didn’t respond to it.
Officers photograph the scene and collect evidence. When they search the man, they find $159 in cash, rolling papers, a lighter, a small amount of an unknown powder, 7 white pills with “377” engraved on them, and 2 court documents which provide his identity. (Officers note the “377” pills appear to be Tramadol, a prescription opioid which is addictive and dangerous to abuse.)
Officers help the coroner load the man’s body for transport. This report concludes with the coroner’s autopsy report; these details are redacted.
The man was contacted 4/28/23 after an officer watched him walk out of a grocery store with soup he hadn’t paid for. When confronted, he said he had no ID, then ran away, dropping the soup. The officer chased him and tackled him. The man insisted the officer was lying about the theft and had profiled him. No charges were filed for theft; however he was trespassed from the store.
This man was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
8/9/23
4869 Broadway, the shelter
11:15 PM
Officers respond to a 911 call at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless regarding a possible overdose. They find a man sitting in a chair, gasping for air. They learn the shelter staff had already administered 5 doses of Narcan and attached an AED to him. (Note the report from 1/6/23 said there was no AED at the shelter.) As he struggles to catch his breath, he begins to rapidly remove his clothing.
The man is monitored until the arrival of fire and AMR, during which time he reveals that he had consumed fentanyl. During the medical intervention, a clear orange pill bottle is discovered on his person which contains five white pills suspected to be fentanyl. The bottle and its contents are taken and submitted for destruction. The man is transported to the hospital for further medical attention.
Later, about 3:00 AM, officers are called to the hospital after security personnel discover more suspected narcotics among the man’s belongings. Given the earlier incident involving a suspected fentanyl overdose, the officers take them and place them into property. Due to the potential dangers associated with fentanyl exposure, and the fact that the man could not be charged with possession due to Good Samaritan protections, the substances are not tested or removed from their packaging.
8/14/23
1777 Broadway, Boulder Municipal Building
7:13 PM
Officers respond regarding a man not conscious/not breathing who has overdosed on fentanyl. Dispatch advises that the man has gone into cardiac arrest. Officers respond emergent. They arrive and find a large crowd directing them toward the victim, who is laying down, spread out on his back. He is purple in the face and not breathing. Officers immediately begin CPR and give him 3-4 doses of Narcan, which do not seem to help. An officer runs to his car and retrieves an AED. When they hook it up to him, the machine advises not to shock him. Officers continue CPR.
AMR arrives and takes over CPR from officers. The man is revived and taken to BCH. Officers learn the man’s name and DOB. He says he smoked one fentanyl pill. The next portion of this report is heavily redacted, however at one point the man says “Ya’ll should have just left me” and “Why did ya’ll come and get me.”
The man was contacted on 2/22/21 after attacking another man who was sitting on his bike at the RTD station downtown at 5:01 PM. He was drunk; he knocked the victim off his bike and punched him twice in the face before both men pulled knives on each other. He was arrested and jailed by himself due to his aggressive behavior. He punched the window of his holding cell while yelling and cussing. He was charged with first degree assault.
8/16/23
A gas station in central Boulder
12:31 PM
Officers respond to the side of a gas station regarding a man not conscious/not breathing. AMR and fire are already there providing aid; they suspect an overdose. The man comes to. He then takes off running toward a nearby bike path. The officer looks for him but does not find him. The man’s identity is unknown.
8/23/23
1777 Broadway, Boulder Municipal Building
11:00 AM
Officers respond regarding a suspected overdose. They locate a man, now conscious and breathing, who tells them he drinks alcohol. An unknown man tells officers he saw the victim passed out with foil in his hand; he threw water on him and gave him a dose of Narcan. He then went to find another canister of Narcan; when he returned the victim was awake. He tells officers he thought the man was “smoking a blue.” The man is taken to BCH for treatment.
8/30/23
1236 Canyon Blvd., Central Park
12:00 PM
Officers respond to Central Park regarding a woman unconscious and not breathing as a result of an overdose. They see her under the bleachers and run over. Three people say they gave her two doses of Narcan and were attempting to give her CPR. Meanwhile the victim is still unconscious, limp, with her eyes closed and foam around her mouth.
Officers give the woman another dose of Narcan and start CPR. She begins shallowly gasping for air. AMR and fire arrive. They cut some of the clothes from the woman’s body to facilitate treating her. In doing so, they find a blue M30 pill hidden on her person.
Officers note tin foil and drug paraphernalia around the area. Multiple witnesses say the woman smoked about half a pill. No one present knows her name. She is transported to BCH where she is identified and treated.
The end of this report is heavily redacted, and the outcome is unclear. Per Boulder Police Records, this is the last call they had which involved this woman. Per the coroner’s report, she died on 9/8/23.
This woman was named at the homeless memorial 12/19/23
9/16/23
A residence in North Boulder
5:45 PM
Officers respond to a residence with a deceased man in the basement. They take over CPR, which is not successful.
Officers learn the man had picked up his wife from their home and brought her to this residence to help the female tenant move out. In the process, they found a large bag of narcotics, some of which is now laid out in lines on the kitchen counter with the man’s ID next to it. Officers investigating find an assortment of drugs and drug paraphernalia throughout the residence.
The man’s wife tells officers she knew he smoked meth, in fact he smoked some when he picked her up about 1:00 PM before coming over. She says he occasionally does cocaine too, but that he doesn’t do opiates and would not knowingly. She believes he ingested the drugs they found because he thought it was meth or cocaine. This was approximately two hours before he was found.
The autopsy report indicates the man’s death was accidental – from cocaine, meth, and fentanyl intoxication.
The man had several intense arrests in recent years. On 1/22/22, he was contacted in a car he had stolen via high-risk traffic stop. He was found with 1.16g meth, burglary tools, and 5 FTA warrants.
This man was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
10/13/23
13th and Arapahoe
1:07 PM
Officers respond regarding a male party down. They find three members of a homeless outreach team giving a man CPR. They say they’ve also given him two doses of Narcan. Officers take over the CPR while noting he is cold to the touch.
Officers speak with one of the volunteers, who says they were handing out food when they found the man laying on his side with his head on his backpack as a pillow. They attempted to wake him up and saw he had a blue/purple face. They also saw vomit coming out of his mouth with blood on it. They immediately called 911.
Fire and AMR arrive and take over medical care while an officer secures the scene with police tape. Officers process the scene. They canvas the area but do not find relevant surveillance footage.
The coroner’s report is included but largely redacted. One detail not redacted is the cause of death: Natural
This man was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
10/22/23
30th and Mapleton
9:41 AM
An officer responds emergent regarding a man who is overdosing on narcotics. En route, he learns the man is unconscious but breathing. He arrives to find a man laying on a cement seating area with vomit dripping from his mouth.
A witness advises he’s administered four doses of Narcan. He says he found the other man sitting up, then he fell over on his side with his skin appearing to turn purple. He does not know what drug was ingested.
Paramedics arrive and are able to wake the man up. They take him to the hospital.
The man was arrested 5/11/22 after exposing himself to a man and his 13 year old daughter who were walking on Goose Creek Path. He was also found to have a total of six FTA warrants.
He was arrested 7/23/22 after throwing beer at two men sitting at a bus stop at 29th and Pearl, then threatening them with a knife.
He was arrested 8/9/22 after smashing a bus stop window with a hammer at 29th and Pearl.
10/22/23
An affordable housing complex in South Boulder
4:05 PM
Officers conduct a welfare check at an affordable housing complex after a neighbor complains of a strong odor. They find the man deceased on his bed, in a resting and peaceful position. They find “several marijuana pipes, many lighters, and some glass pipes that are often used to smoke meth.” They also find many cigarette butts, and a plastic bag over the smoke detector.
Officers speak with another neighbor. She says she was not friends with the man, but was friendly with him. She last saw him on 10/20, when she knocked on his door and gave him chicken fingers for dinner. She noted he was looking very sick. She says he had “street people” friends who would come over; “some of them were not very nice people.” She suspects the whole group was using meth. She says the man lived there when she moved in 9 months ago, that he did not work, and that he was a nice guy who “hung around trash.” He would always apologize for his friend’s behavior and never bothered her.
The autopsy report is included but redacted.
This man was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
10/24/23
An affordable housing complex in central Boulder
1:17 PM
Officers respond regarding a man who has been found dead in his apartment. They enter the man’s unit and find him on the floor. An officer speaks with the man’s friend, who says he knew the victim for about 3 years when they both met in a homeless shelter. He says he believes the man was smoking blues (fentanyl), sometimes with a woman. They interview the man’s neighbors and others who knew him. Some of them describe the man using fentanyl and hanging around with drug users.
Officers process the scene, finding it extremely messy, including glass shards, Airsoft BB projectiles scattered, and holes in the walls. They find a glass pipe and burned foil. They also find a note regarding his eviction from the building and an inspection to be completed on 10/25.
The woman mentioned earlier is identified and located. She tells officers the man was using a lot of fentanyl. She says the last time she saw him, he was having trouble breathing. She told him he should be seen at the hospital but he refused to go.
The report concludes with the autopsy report, although it is fully redacted.
This man was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
10/25/23 (date of autopsy report)
(This was in Boulder County, however I believe this was outside the city of Boulder)
Per the report:
“The deceased was discovered decomposing in an abandoned residence. His history included bipolar disorder and alcohol/drug abuse. 40 blue “M30” pills were discovered at the scene.”
The man was identified by his fingerprints. The cause of death is listed as accidental meth and fentanyl intoxication.
This man was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
10/28/23
Morrison Alley, between Broadway and 11th
8:50 AM
An officer on an unrelated traffic stop is approached by a cleaner who directs him toward a man sleeping under a nearby staircase. The officer finds the man laying next to a broken narcotics pipe and crumpled up tin foil. He calls for a cover officer and they wake the man up. Officers learn he has three warrants and place him under arrest. They find marijuana on his person. He becomes agitated. His requests to take a hit from his “vape pen” before being taken away are denied.
Officers escort the man to a patrol car. Before they are able to get him in it, he goes limp. Officers lay him down and he starts convulsing and foaming at the mouth. They remove his handcuffs, roll him on his side, hold his head, and request AMR emergent. Shortly after AMR arrives, the man stops convulsing. He’s loaded onto a stretcher and taken to BCH.
While being treated in the ER, the man makes statements about being forced to swallow razor blades in Detroit last week, and they had also hit him in the head. BCH staff advises the man’s treatment will take awhile. Officers leave, planning to return to take the man to jail later.
The man escapes from the hospital. He’s located at 28th and Canyon. Officers try to take him into custody. When they try to transport him, he goes limp and starts convulsing again. Again they call AMR emergent, and again the man is transported emergent to BCH and treated.
While the man is being secured for transport to the jail, he spits on the seat next to him. After he’s warned he’ll get a spit mask if he does it again, he does it again. He’s fitted with a spit mask and taken to jail.
11/4/23
Foothills and Walnut
2:28 PM
Officers respond emergent regarding a woman not conscious and not breathing. They are flagged down and led to a row of tents. They enter the tent with the woman, who is on the ground unconscious. There are two men with her, one of whom is giving her CPR (while on the phone with police dispatch, which is instructing him). AMR arrives and takes over medical treatment.
One of the men tells officers he didn’t know the woman very well. He says she took a hit of fentanyl, then slumped over about two minutes later and appeared unconscious. The other man says that he and the woman were smoking fentanyl in the tent, and she took 2-3 hits before slumping over. He says he could not wake her up and gave her 4 doses of Narcan, which the first man confirms.
The woman is rushed to the hospital but does not recover. Officers thank the two men for their efforts at helping her. They warn them about the dangers of fentanyl and advise them to seek treatment if they suffer from addiction.
Officers note burnt foils and drug residue, which they photograph. They collect a fentanyl pipe which medical personnel find on her person.
Officers speak with the woman’s mother, who would sometimes visit her camp but had not in a while. She says her daughter had always struggled with addiction, had lost custody of her three children (whom the mother now cares for), and had also lost her husband tragically a few years prior.
This is the woman who overdosed at an ice cream shop on 4/18/23 but survived
This woman was named at the homeless memorial on 12/19/23
11/11/23
One of Boulder’s Housing First facilities
8:05 PM
A man is in a room he shares with three other men when he hears “a large thump” in an adjacent sleeping area. He finds his roommate on the floor making odd gurgling noises. As the victim becomes unresponsive, the man gives him [redacted] while another roommate calls 911. Meanwhile the victim turns purple.
The two men begin CPR. They bring an AED into the room, but the machine advises not to shock him and to continue CPR. They continue until AMR and fire arrive. The man is taken to BCH.
Per the report, the man had no pulse for 25 minutes. After a second dose of [redacted], he had a weak pulse, “indicating that this was likely an overdose.”
Multiple people interviewed say the man had indicated no signs of fentanyl abuse or other unusual behavior.
Related reports
The following report on drug overdoses in Boulder in 2025 documents fatal overdoses occurring in public or public-accessible spaces:
https://boulderpublicsafety.org/fatal-overdoses-2025/
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