State senator, district attorney say improved police accountability act still...
DENVER–Governor Polis signed Senate Bill 20-217, the Law Enforcement Integrity Act, into law Friday, June 19, bringing to a close a hurried legislative effort that 18th Judicial District Attorney...
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Carroll: You can both support reform, reject condemning all cops
More than 80% of all citizens killed by police in Colorado from 2014 through the end of last year were armed, usually with a gun. Eighty-six percent were high on drugs or alcohol, with methamphetamine...
View ArticleColorado Supreme Court reaffirms self-defense right to ‘stand your ground’
DENVER–In a June 29 ruling the Colorado Supreme Court threw out the conviction of a woman who stabbed a man in the neck during an altercation and ordered a new trial due to prosecutorial misconduct, as...
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Armstrong: The killing of Elijah McClain
Why did Elijah McClain’s death on August 24, 2019, at the hands of Aurora police largely get swept under the rug until the protests in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd prompted a...
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Armstrong: Police interactions come with rights, responsibilities
Conservatives and Progressives often make the same broad mistake when evaluating use of force by police officers: They assume a given instance can be morally evaluated in the absence of case-specific...
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Denver crime rises dramatically; increases continue some trends, erases gains...
DENVER–The first half of 2020 has seen a sharp spike in both violent and property crime in Denver. In some cases, the increase continues or accelerates a trend that has been in place for years, while...
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Eaton ‘Back the Blue’ rally a chance for former cop, young protesters to connect
EATON — While several hundred people were focused on supporting law enforcement in Eaton at a Back the Blue rally recently, one former law enforcement officer took the time to sit with a small handful...
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Armstrong: Violence, incarceration and COVID-19
Constitution-loving conservatives should be sensitive to concerns that exposing prisoners to COVID-19 may strain the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments. Surely it is cruel...
View ArticleConcealed carry of firearms growing nationwide; over a half million...
ALEXANDRIA, VA–A new report just released by the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) says lawful concealed carry of firearms continues to grow at an exponential rate even as issuance of concealed...
View ArticleLegislative bill to significantly limit police arrest powers, restrict cash...
DENVER–A bill being prepared for the 2021 legislative session, sponsored by Sen. Pete Lee, D-Colorado Springs, would prohibit law enforcement from arresting people in a wide array of cases including...
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Armstrong: Are you an ‘occasional’ sales tax felon?
Did you know that if you hold a yard sale or sell a used item through Craigslist or the like, Colorado law requires you to collect and remit sales taxes? Did you know that, technically, you could be...
View ArticleProblems with police accountability act concern Colorado cities, towns;...
In the January edition of Colorado Municipalities, the Colorado Municipal League (CML) expressed serious concerns about last year’s Senate Bill 214, the “Law Enforcement Integrity Act” (Act), which was...
View ArticleArmstrong: Getting to real police accountability
“Officers never had, nor did they ever attempt to articulate, any reasonable suspicion that McClain may have engaged in, or sought to engage in, any criminal activity.” That’s what I wrote last July...
View ArticleArmstrong: Gun storage bill misses its target
Safe storage of firearms—who could be against that? No one, obviously, when storage actually increases net safety. So why did Colorado House Republicans spend ten hours opposing the measure, House Bill...
View ArticleArmstrong: The Goldilocks approach to criminal justice
Call it the Goldilocks approach to criminal justice. Government should neither treat all criminals extremely and unforgivingly harshly, regardless of the nature of the crime; nor should it coddle...
View ArticleArmstrong: Would you snap your fingers and make all guns disappear?
We all want to live in world where people can go about their lives without fear of suffering violence. No one wants to experience the mortal terror of confronting a murderer. No one wants to suffer the...
View ArticleCourt acknowledges Denver police violated First Amendment; grants qualified...
DENVER–In August 2014, Levi Frasier filmed Denver police officers using force against a suspect during an arrest for an alleged drug deal. The officers punched the accused six times in the face, and...
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Brauchler: Legislature burning down Colorado’s criminal justice system
With half of the 2021 session in the books, the Colorado legislature has shown an undeniable commitment to hastily lowering jail and prison populations … not by reducing criminal conduct, but by...
View ArticleNew law regulating storage of guns in the home constitutionally questionable,...
DENVER–Governor Polis signed the recently passed “Safe Storage of Firearms” bill into law April 19. The new law imposes criminal penalties on gun owners who fail to store their firearms “in a locked...
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Fogleman: Democrats’ gun control bill steps backward on justice reform
Several sweeping sweeping criminal justice reform bills have been passed in back-to-back Colorado legislative sessions. Democratic lawmakers claim to be addressing the issue of disparate outcomes faced...
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