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As incidents involving body cameras increase, top manufacturer pushes them for all police
DENVER – Questions about the purpose of police body cameras and when their captured content should be publicly released have been renewed after the chief of police for Fort Collins said Sunday he wouldn’t release body camera video of one of his officers slamming a woman to the ground during an arrest until after an investigation.
The Fort Collins Police Department is one of a handful of Colorado law enforcement agencies that have bought body cameras for their officers, and one of few in the state that has pledged to outfit all of its officers with the technology. Continue reading
Rep. Ed Perlmutter to make ‘announcement’ Sunday in Golden; is he running for governor?
DENVER – With a brand new “Perlmutter for Colorado” banner atop the news release, Rep. Ed Perlmutter, the Democrat who represents Colorado’s 7th Congressional District, said he would be making “an announcement” in Golden Sunday afternoon.
The release was accompanied by a long history of Perlmutter’s life and political wins in Colorado, leading many to believe that the congressman will be announcing his candidacy for governor in 2018. Continue reading
18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler running for governor of Colorado in 2018
DENVER – George Brauchler, the district attorney in Arapahoe County best-known for his relentless crusade to bring the death penalty back to action in Colorado and for being the prosecutor in the Aurora movie theater shooting case, is running for governor, he told Denver7 Tuesday afternoon.
Brauchler, who is Colorado’s 18th Judicial District Attorney, has overseen prosecution in the district that covers parts of Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties since January 2013. Continue reading
After demanding Obama authorize Syria strike with Congress, Colo. GOP backs off claims under Trump
DENVER – The reaction from many lawmakers to Thursday night’s U.S. attack on a Syrian air base that followed a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens earlier this week stands in stark contrast to their reactions when President Obama called for similar military actions in 2013.
Thousands of Syrians were hit with chemical weapons in a strike purportedly ordered by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Aug. 21, 2013. Continue reading
Denver officials ask ICE to ‘respect’ courts, schools
DENVER – Denver’s mayor, city council and legal representatives sent a letter Thursday to the local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office requesting agents stay away from “sensitive locations,” including schools and courthouses, while performing their duties.
The letter asks ICE officials to stay in line with an October 2011 ICE memo called “Enforcement Actions at or Focused on Sensitive Locations” that agents “avoid unnecessarily alarming local communities” and to take caution and care when enforcing federal immigration law near the “sensitive locations.” Continue reading
Republicans invoke ‘nuclear option’ in Gorsuch nomination; he’ll need just 51 votes now
DENVER – As he said in recent days he would do, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet on Thursday ordered the motion to end debate on the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
Bennet said Monday he would not support a Democratic filibuster of the Colorado judge’s nomination, and he voted for cloture Thursday morning after 42 of his Democratic colleagues had already voted against it. Continue reading
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet will vote ‘no’ on Neil Gorsuch SCOTUS confirmation
WASHINGTON – Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet will vote “no” on Judge Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, he said Thursday after Senate Republicans invoked the “nuclear option” to require only a simple majority vote for the Colorado judge’s confirmation.
“Judge Gorsuch is a very conservative judge and not one that I would have chosen. For the reasons I have said, I had concerns about his approach to the law,” Bennet, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Those concerns grow even more significant as we confront the reality that President Trump may have several more opportunities to transform the court with a partisan majority.” Continue reading
Report: States with medical marijuana have lower opioid-related hospitalization rates
DENVER – A study published earlier this month in the Journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence says states with legalized medical marijuana programs have seen fewer opioid-induced hospitalizations per capita than states with no program.
The study was authored by Yuyan Shi, an assistant professor at the University of California-San Diego, and looked at hospitalization records for marijuana and opioids in 27 states across the country from 1997 to 2014. Continue reading
Bennet, Gardner threaten arrest of fellow senators in event of absence during government shutdown
WASHINGTON – Colorado’s senators are threatening to have their fellow senators arrested in the event they are absent during a possible government shutdown that looms at the end of the month.
If Congress does not approve a new spending bill by late April, which is possible because of some measures Republicans have included in the bill that have angered Democrats, the government would again shut down – as it did in 2013 over a spat over Obamacare and in 1995 and 1996 under the Clinton administration over the budget deficit. Continue reading
Hickenlooper, governors of other pot-friendly states tell feds to consult them, not change Cole Memo
DENVER – Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday sent a letter – along with the governors of Alaska, Oregon and Washington – urging the Treasury and Justice Departments to talk with them before enacting any new federal enforcement rules or regulations on the legal marijuana industry.
The letter comes amid much uncertainty in the 28 states that have legalized either recreational or medical marijuana, and how new Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Treasury Department plan to enforce federal rules in those states. Continue reading