On a warm summer evening in Denver, Colorado, the lively sounds of a jazz festival in City Park were tragically silenced by gunfire. It was June 24, 2012, and Police Officer Celena Charise Hollis, a 32-year-old African-American single mother, was working off-duty at the event. Shortly after 8:00 p.m., a fight broke out near the pavilion by City Park Lake. As Officer Hollis intervened to de-escalate the situation, she was struck in the head by a bullet.
She was rushed to Denver Health Medical Center, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Celena Hollis was a dedicated and respected member of the law enforcement community. Before joining the Denver Police Department in 2005, she had served with the Detroit Police Department for four years. In Denver, she was not only a police officer but also the president of the Denver Black Police Officers Organization. She was a mentor to high school girls and was remembered as a valuable and cherished member of the department. Her sudden death left behind her young daughter, who was just 12 years old at the time.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, a suspect was taken into custody. He was identified as 21-year-old Rollen Oliver. Witnesses provided a description of the gunman, leading to Oliver's arrest late on the night of the incident. Investigators also recovered a handgun. Initially, Oliver was charged with first-degree murder. The investigation suggested that as a fight involving two groups, one of which was believed to be a gang, escalated, Oliver fired a handgun.
Rollen Oliver eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. According to court testimony, Oliver claimed that he and a friend were attacked by a group of people he believed to be gang members. He stated that as he ran away from the altercation, he fired his gun over his shoulder. A bullet from his gun was matched to the one that fatally wounded Officer Hollis. As a result of his guilty plea, he was sentenced to 26 years in prison for his role in the death of Officer Celena Charise Hollis.
