Justice
Colorado one of 10 states selected for program to improve impaired driving data
Colorado will receive help from the National Governors Association to modernize its data collection practices for impaired driving. It is one of 10 states chosen to work with the NGA through a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “In the past, a lot of (states’ data) tracking was geared toward alcohol-related […]
Pro-police too often means pro-entitlement
The protests that appeared in cities and towns across America after Minneapolis police killed the unarmed George Floyd have led to many reforms of law enforcement. But another outcome is a backlash in which self-appointed police defenders have become increasingly hostile not just to reforms but also, paradoxically, to the police. This malign force should […]
Some criminal cases among backlog could be dropped due to Colorado’s speedy trial mandate
Colorado judicial districts got the green light to resume criminal jury trials this week after the coronavirus shut down much of in-person court operations in mid-March. The nearly five-month delay has created a hefty backlog of criminal cases awaiting trial, which some worry could result in prosecutors dropping some because of Colorado’s speedy trial mandate. […]
Top Homeland Security official vows federal agents ‘will not back away’ from violent protests
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s number two at the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday defended federal law enforcement officers’ intervention in protests in Portland, Oregon, and other cities this summer. Characterizing some of the protests as “mob rule,” Acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli told lawmakers that federal agents could exert force in […]
Trump administration issues memo slashing DACA program
Despite court rulings and overwhelming public support for people who’ve received temporary protection from deportation through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, President Donald Trump’s administration took further steps on July 28 toward dismantling DACA. In a memo, Chad Wolf, the Department of Homeland Security acting secretary, announced that DHS would reject “all pending […]
Youth ‘reimagine’ policing and public safety during town hall
Nearly 40 Colorado youth convened on Tuesday night over Zoom in a public forum to “reimagine” policing and public safety in Denver. During the virtual community-led town hall, which was livestreamed on Facebook, students discussed a need for reallocating police funding, more community mental health services and police training around implicit bias and cultural competence. […]
‘Cold day in hell’ before he’d tolerate ‘uninvited’ federal agents, former DHS boss Ridge says
HARRISBURG, Penn. — The nation’s first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security had sharp words for his former agency Tuesday, condemning the Trump administration’s decision to send federal officers into the streets of Portland, Ore., to quell protests, saying it was “counterproductive,” and that it was not the agency’s mission to act as domestic […]
Students share stories of discrimination, assault through Instagram account
A few weeks ago, two Colorado teenagers created a platform for students at Jefferson County Public Schools to share painful stories. “I’d just been thinking a lot about kind of the racist or anti-Semitic incidents that have occurred to me, and that they must have happened to so many other people,” said Elyza Berry, 18, […]
Court orders Trump administration to accept new DACA applications
Almost one month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration didn’t properly end a program that protects undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children, the Department of Homeland Security still had not reopened the program to new applicants. The Trump administration has long tried to end the Barack […]
Groundbreaking law opened police internal affairs investigations records. But more transparency is needed.
By Jeffrey A. Roberts Fourteen months before Colorado lawmakers passed the sweeping law enforcement accountability and transparency bill recently signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis, they approved a measure to shine a light on how police departments police themselves. House Bill 19-1119 was groundbreaking, introducing a statewide standard for the disclosure of records on completed internal affairs investigations. Before […]
Colorado ranked 9th in U.S. for gap between renters’ income and housing cost
Workers earning minimum wage in Colorado — many of whom have served as essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic — need to work a total of 71 hours per week to afford a fair market, one-bedroom rental home, according to a national study published on Tuesday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a research […]
Battle with Trump over renaming military facilities that honor Confederates expected
WASHINGTON — Key U.S. senators are preparing for battle with the White House over renaming military facilities that honor Confederates — and they’re expecting to win. Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat who backs the effort, said he believes the GOP-controlled Senate would override a possible presidential veto of a defense policy bill that, with […]