Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Law Enforcement

Denver City Council Blocks Proposal to Cut Police Budget for Homeless Services
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver City Council Blocks Proposal to Cut Police Budget for Homeless Services

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette A push to shift millions of dollars away from the Denver Police Department to pay for homeless families’ shelter failed on Monday night, when councilmembers waded through more than two dozen amendments. The council voted against a pair of amendments, sponsored independently by Councilmember Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and At-large Councilmember Sarah Parady, both of which proposed a one-time budget reallocation of $9 million from the police department to Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST) to pay for the needs of approximately 240 homeless families. The two amendments would have taken funding from DPD’s recruiting program, as well as from its service and supply budget line. When asked how HOST might use the additional cash infus...
Broomfield Church Defaced With Swastika as City Leaders Denounce Hate
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Broomfield Church Defaced With Swastika as City Leaders Denounce Hate

By Jesse Sarles | CBS Colorado Someone spray painted a large swastika on a church's sign in the Denver metro area over the weekend. That's according to elected officials in the City and County of Broomfield, who say the incident is under investigation.   Police believe it happened sometime Sunday morning at Beautiful Savior Church near Main Street and West 120th Avenue. The city's mayor and members of the city county jointly posted a statement on the city's website that said volunteers cleaned up the swastika along with other symbols that were painted on the sign. In their statement they wrote that the sight was "painful and deeply disturbing." READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CBS COLORADO
Modern-Day “Bonnie and Clyde” Busted with Cat After Violent Colorado Liquor Store Theft
Outkick, Approved, Local

Modern-Day “Bonnie and Clyde” Busted with Cat After Violent Colorado Liquor Store Theft

By: Sean Joseph | OutKick Shoplifting, pepper spray, biting, and a cat. Colorado’s liquor store chaos has it all. There's a certain amount of perseverance required to get caught shoplifting from a liquor store and refuse to go down without a fight. I'm not saying it's a form of determination that should be admired. I'm simply pointing out that there is more than one path from shoplifting to being arrested, and these two chose the path that includes pepper spray and biting while brawling with employees. A man and woman in Colorado had, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, shoplifted several items from a liquor store and tried to leave. Two employees of the fine establishment followed them out into the parking lot and attempted to sto...
Judge Weighs Whether Colorado Can Restrict ICE From Warrantless Arrests
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Judge Weighs Whether Colorado Can Restrict ICE From Warrantless Arrests

By: Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics A federal judge heard testimony on Thursday from multiple noncitizens who were arrested by immigration officers in Colorado this year, and arguments from their attorneys that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is violating the legal standard for conducting warrantless arrests. The ACLU of Colorado and other law firms have asked U.S. District Court Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson to issue a preliminary injunction holding ICE to the requirement in federal law that warrantless arrests only occur when officers have probable cause to believe someone is in the country illegally and they are a flight risk. “Masked, militarized ICE agents with flak jackets and long rifles are terrorizing neighborhoods across Colorado, ignoring their du...
The Case of Ian Roberts: A Slap in the Face to Law-Abiding Citizens
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

The Case of Ian Roberts: A Slap in the Face to Law-Abiding Citizens

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The arrest of Ian Roberts, former superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, is more than a scandal. It is an insult to every law-abiding citizen who plays by the rules, pays their taxes, and expects their government institutions to uphold the law with fairness and integrity. Roberts, an undocumented immigrant with a final deportation order, was entrusted with the leadership of Iowa’s largest school district. For this role, he collected nearly $300,000 a year in taxpayer money. Parents who struggle to pay rising property taxes funded his salary and benefits, even while their children’s classrooms lacked resources and their teachers went without competitive pay. How could this happen? According to federal filings, Roberts...
CU Boulder TPUSA Leader Attacked After Antifa “Hit List” Circulates Online
JONATHANTURLEY.ORG, Approved, Local

CU Boulder TPUSA Leader Attacked After Antifa “Hit List” Circulates Online

By Jonathan Turley | JonathanTurley.org As Democratic leaders like Rep. Dan Goldman (D, N.Y.) insist that Antifa does not exist as a group, two Antifa groups — Front Range Antifa and Colorado Springs Antifa — put out a hit list poster on a University of Colorado sophomore and leader in Turning Point USA. He was promptly attacked by a person in the signature Antifa black outfit on roller blades who used a hockey stick to mete out the punishment. According to a press release, Boulder Police are looking for a suspect accused of attacking a 19-year-old Turning Point USA student leader near the University of Colorado, Boulder on Thursday evening. The attacker is suspected to be an Antifa member and to have followed the victim in the premeditate...
Aurora Police Arrest Man Deported Three Times After I-225 Shooting
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Aurora Police Arrest Man Deported Three Times After I-225 Shooting

By Kyla Pearce | The Denver Gazette Aurora police officers arrested a suspect in connection with a shooting on I-225 last weekend in what officials described as a case in which camera technology and cooperation with federal immigration agents played a major role. The case also illustrated the stark differences between the cities of Denver and Aurora in how they approach the use of surveillance videos and working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Police on Thursday apprehended Celin Villeda Orellana, 38, on charges of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, menacing and illegal discharge of a firearm, all felonies, according to Acting Assistant Chief Mark Hildebrand in a news conference on Friday. Orellana has been deported three times since 2007. Th...
“Everything Was Gone”: Colorado Victims Speak Out After Crime Ring Arrests
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

“Everything Was Gone”: Colorado Victims Speak Out After Crime Ring Arrests

By Sarah Horbacewicz | CBS Colorado Victims in Colorado are sharing their stories after the Boulder County Sheriff's Office announced arrests in a crime ring spanning at least 18 months. As CBS Colorado reported, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office executed several search warrants on Wednesday morning that are part of a grand jury investigation into an organized crime ring targeting the Front Range. Five arrests have been made, and one suspect remains at large. According to the 20th Judicial District Attorney's Office, they executed the search warrants as part of a criminal case. Boulder officials said a crime ring is responsible for 26 burglaries and 15 motor vehicle thefts, and many other offenses. Last July, Rich Caudill woke up to find his truck ransacked, at first not know...
License Plate Readers Expand Across Colorado, Raising Privacy Concerns
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

License Plate Readers Expand Across Colorado, Raising Privacy Concerns

By: Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Police across Colorado say they make communities safer, but privacy experts have a different opinion about license plate readers. While license plate readers have been around for decades, the cameras now capture, not just license plates, but vast troves of information. That information is fed into a national database, where it can be combined with other surveillance to develop detailed travel patterns of millions of people as they go to a political rally, or an abortion clinic, a house of worship, or a gay bar. The cameras are so prolific that it's difficult to avoid them in many cities. Boulder software engineer Will Freeman is the first to begin mapping them. A year ago, he didn't even know what license plate readers looked like, let alone w...
Five Suspects Nabbed in Organized Crime Spree Across 25 Jurisdictions
kdvr.com, Approved, State

Five Suspects Nabbed in Organized Crime Spree Across 25 Jurisdictions

By: Heather Willard, Jacob Factor | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday morning executed nine search warrants after an 18-month investigation of an alleged criminal enterprise that committed crimes in 25 Colorado jurisdictions, resulting in the arrest of five people. One person remains at large. The 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said that the crime ring is responsible for over $828,880 in stolen property and $39,880 in damaged property, impacting more than 55 victims. County officials said on Wednesday morning that the nine search warrants were part of a “grand jury investigation,” and on Wednesday afternoon, officials said that a crime ring that targeted the Front Range had been brought to a “halt.” The Boulder County District At...