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Tag: Public safety

Proposed Law Could Expose Colorado Prosecutors to Civil Lawsuits
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Proposed Law Could Expose Colorado Prosecutors to Civil Lawsuits

By Colette Bordelon | Denver7 A bill that could be introduced in the Colorado legislature is already drawing strong opinions on what prosecutorial immunity should look like. DENVER — In Colorado, prosecutors can face criminal ramifications if their actions while working on a case warrant such a charge — but they cannot be sued in civil court for damages caused to a defendant. The concept is called prosecutorial immunity, something the district attorney for the First Judicial District, Alexis King, explained to Denver7 The Colorado Attorney Regulation Counsel addresses ethics concerns as an independent body that can review attorney conduct and licensure. "Not only do I believe the checks and balances are there, I believe that prosecutors as a p...
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Colorado Democrats Advance Broad Package of New Gun Regulations
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Advance Broad Package of New Gun Regulations

By: Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–A series of gun rights restrictions are at various stages in the Colorado’s legislative process, with some bills awaiting action by Gov. Polis, others still in the committee process, and a heavily negotiated gun barrel regulation bill held up in its final reading in the House.   Red flag expansion Senate Bill 26-004 ‘Expand List of Petitioners for Protection Orders’ passed third reading in the House on March 20 with a 39-24 vote and is awaiting action by Gov. Polis.     The Democrat sponsored bill dramatically expands those eligible to file for an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) under Colorado’s so-called ‘red flag’ law, to include teachers, health care providers and “institutional petitioners.’ I...
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Arizona Case Targets Online Child Predator Network With Terrorism Charges
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Arizona's Family, Approved, National

Arizona Case Targets Online Child Predator Network With Terrorism Charges

By Nicole Crites | Arizona’s Family Federal agents say 19-year-old Baron Martin targeted kids as young as 11, blackmailing them into acts of violence. PHOENIX (AZFamily) — When 19-year-old Baron Martin was cited for a fender bender in Tucson two and a half years ago, federal agents say he was already deep into the world of 764. Agents say Martin joined the online network in 2019 and is now tied to crimes that could keep him locked up for life. Behind closed doors from his keyboard in Tucson, detectives say he went by the name “Convict,” targeting kids as young as 11 in the U.S. and overseas. Agents say he blackmailed them to carve his name into their bodies, kill their pets and live stream acts of extreme violence. Timothy Courchaine, U.S. att...
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20 Years Probation For Sexual Assault On a Child
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Jeffco Kids First, Approved, Commentary, Local

20 Years Probation For Sexual Assault On a Child

By Ben Brickweg | Commentary, Jeffco Kids First A Jeffco father and attorney answered our call to help fill the courtroom for the Chloe Castro sentencing (Jeffco Schools social worker who admitted to sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust—her own IEP special needs student). This is what he shared on social media when he returned home. I was in the Jefferson County Courthouse earlier this afternoon, and the world doesn’t make sense anymore. I watched a school social worker admit to sexual assault of a student and get sentenced to probation with zero prison time. I don’t spend time in court. I’m a transaction guy. People hear “lawyer” and assume I live in a courtroom, but that’s not my world. Maybe in another life I would have been good at it, but not this o...
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Colorado Lawmakers Advance Painful Budget Cuts Amid Billion Dollar Shortfall
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Advance Painful Budget Cuts Amid Billion Dollar Shortfall

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The panel of Colorado legislators in charge of crafting next year’s budget has finalized the 2026–27 spending plan built on deep cuts and one‑time cash transfers in an attempt to close a shortfall of more than $1.2 billion. The plan is leaving lawmakers frustrated with the reductions to core services. Some cited cuts to health care programs for children and families, though others argued the spending plan “protects what matters most.” That $1.2 billion figure comes from the governor’s economic forecast. The legislature’s economists, however, warned of an even bigger deficit at around $1.5 billion. A combination of factors have led to Colorado’s budget woes. Democrats have pointed to the congressional budget approved last...
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What’s missing: Questions raised about immigration details in Colorado crime coverage
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

What’s missing: Questions raised about immigration details in Colorado crime coverage

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Free State Colorado: our local media ignores the fact that a sex offender is here illegally In a funny coincidence I noticed a couple of stories, one national and one local, about essentially the same topic. They’re both about how the media has a problem with selective attention.* In particular to the two different stories, it’s how the lefty media ignore the illegal immigrants do in this country. The first link below is to a Fox News op ed about this topic, spurred (though not limited to) the murder of Sheridan Gorman in Chicago by an illegal immigrant. Especially noteworthy was just how little—see the image heading this post—time the big networks devoted to her murder and the man committing it. Closer...
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Colorado Faces Elevated Wildfire Risk As Conditions Outpace Historic Fire Seasons
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The Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Faces Elevated Wildfire Risk As Conditions Outpace Historic Fire Seasons

By Nick Smith | The Gazette Colorado’s blistering, dry and breezy conditions have fire officials on edge as the state braces for a wildfire season forecast to be worse than during the Waldo Canyon fire in 2012. Officials warn that wildfires are becoming more frequent, more destructive and larger. “We are not looking good for fire this year,” Colorado Springs Fire Marshal Kris Cooper told the city council on Monday. “It’s got the fire department on pins and needles.” According to Tracy LeClair, a spokesperson for The Wildland Fire Management Section of the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, conditions are a “magnitude worse” than those ahead of major historic wildfires in the state, such as the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest fire...
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Polis pushes for new prison as critics question Colorado spending priorities
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Polis pushes for new prison as critics question Colorado spending priorities

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Does Colorado need to open (or build) a new prison? Governor Polis’ office seems to think so. Per the Sun article linked at bottom (quoted with links left intact): “Gov. Jared Polis’ office told state lawmakers Wednesday that Colorado must immediately move to open a new prison to handle projected growth in inmate numbers, a revelation that comes as the legislature is cutting social services to address a $1 billion state budget shortfall and despite the General Assembly’s pushback on much smaller funding requests for more beds at existing prisons.” Given what I’d seen before about asking for more beds, I’m betting wanting a whole new prison made some jaws drop alright. I’ll leave it to you to read th...
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Former Colorado Teacher Of The Year Finalist Sentenced To 14 Years In Student Abuse Case
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Former Colorado Teacher Of The Year Finalist Sentenced To 14 Years In Student Abuse Case

By Logan Smith | CBS Colorado A finalist for 2025 Colorado Teacher of the Year violated the terms of her probation and continued to contact one of her former students after she'd been criminally charged for having a relationship with the student and fired from her teaching position, according to a court document. Tera Johnson-Swartz was sentenced on March 19 to 14 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Two cases were filed against her - the first following a grand jury investigation into the relationship, the second after detectives learned that Johnson-Swartz was trying to maintain contact with the student. The student confirmed those attempts, according to the arrest affidavit in the second case. In an interview, the student said his former teacher walked u...
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Going the wrong way: Colorado’s fentanyl deaths rise while the rest of the nation falls
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Going the wrong way: Colorado’s fentanyl deaths rise while the rest of the nation falls

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice While much of the country is finally beginning to turn the corner on fentanyl, Colorado is heading in the opposite direction. And the human cost is staggering. Colorado’s numbers are still moving up—synthetic opioid deaths have climbed 17 percent since December 2024. Elsewhere, the trend has started to turn. Across the country, overdose deaths have dropped 26.9 percent, according to the CDC, the steepest one-year decline of the crisis and the lowest levels since 2019. Colorado isn’t just behind. It stands apart. A March 2026 report from the Common Sense Institute puts that gap into focus: 1,620 excess deaths. In other words, that’s how many more Coloradans died from synthetic opioid overdoses between ...
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