Month: December 2016
Denver City Council approves gender-neutral single-stall bathroom code changes
DENVER – The Denver City Council voted unanimously Monday night to require all existing and new single-stall bathrooms be designated as gender-neutral.
The move, originally put forth by the Denver LGBTQ Commission, councilors Jolon Clark and Robin Kniech and the Department of Community Planning and Development, will amend the city building code.
Every single-stall bathroom will now require a sign that clarifies each bathroom is open to use by anyone.
For single-stall bathrooms already in place, property owners have until May 1, 2018 to get into compliance and put up new signs.
“Denver will take every step we can to remove barriers for our people while creating more convenience. This is who we are as a city and I’m very proud of that,” Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement. “This code change was a commonsensical action that we know will allow people to live their lives without anxiety about something as simple as bathroom access. This is also another way in which Denver demonstrates that we are a welcoming and inclusive place to call home for all our people.”
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Family of slain deputy Nate Carrigan sues Park County Sheriff’s Office over his death in shootout
DENVER – The family of the Park County deputy killed in February by a man who had previously threatened to harm officers has filed a federal lawsuit against the sheriff’s office claiming the negligence of commanders led to their son’s death.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court of Colorado on behalf of Nate Carrigan’s estate, his parents, John and Melissa Carrigan, as well as Park County Deputy Kolby Martin, who was injured in the incident.
The defendants in the suit are the Park County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Fred Wegener and Cpt. Mark Hancock, who was also shot in the incident, though the bullet only grazed his ear.
The suit claims the “grossly negligent decision making” of the defendants “were not just a lapse in judgment or honest mistake.” It says their actions “exposed Deputies Martin and Carrigan to dangers that should have been entirely preventable.”
Carrigan and Martin were shot by Martin Wirth on Feb. 24 while serving him an eviction notice. He had previously threatened to kill police in the months before and had refused to leave his home in Bailey.
A report on the incident released in August by the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, Hancock told investigators he believed Wirth would be “physically combative” and had said the office “didn’t really feel that it warranted a SWAT call.”
The suit cites the CBI report throughout in detailing the timeline of that day, and notes Wirth had said if he were evicted, it would be “a shootout like the OK Corral.”
Wirth retreated back inside the home, and Hancock grew worried that too much time had passed and that deputies were in danger. But rather than retreating, he and Carrigan went to the door.
The report says Hancock told investigators he didn’t know if he got permission (the lawsuit says the sheriff gave permission), but told Carrigan to kick in the door since Wirth had barricaded himself inside.
Martin entered first and was followed by another deputy. As he rounded a corner, Wirth shot him eight times in the pelvis and legs.
Carrigan was shot through the armpit as he breached the door, and Hancock was grazed sometime during the incident.
At one point, Wirth escaped out of the home into the woods, where he was eventually shot dead by Hancock.
Wegener said in August that his deputies “did what they were supposed to” and called them heroes. The suit says, however, that many plans originally made to serve the eviction that day were not followed, nor was standard operating procedure followed by Hancock or Wegener.
It says they “ignored their own training” and that the deputies lacked the training and equipment to confront Wirth that day.
Martin and Carrigan’s family are both seeking compensatory and special damages, and lost past and future earnings, among other things.
Sheriff Wegener told Denver7 neither he nor the sheriff’s office had been served as of 11:15 a.m.
“We’re sorry that the family has taken this direction, but will certainly wait to let the justice system work, and wait and see what happens,” he said.
Carrigan had worked for the sheriff’s office for 13 years and was well-known in the community after growing up there and coaching at Platte Canyon High School. His family first discussed their intent to sue with Denver7 in August.
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Report says throttle malfunction cut engine, caused Thunderbird pilot to crash after Academy flyover
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – An Air Force Thunderbird that crashed in Colorado Springs after a flyover at the Air Force Academy’s graduation ceremony in June suffered a throttle malfunction before the crash, according to a report from Air Combat Command.
The pilot of the F-16CM Thunderbird, Maj. Alex Turner, reported engine trouble and ejected before the crash. The $29 million airplane went down in a field south of Peterson Air Force Base but was destroyed.
The Accident Investigation Board determined that Maj. Turner had started landing procedures, but “inadvertently rotated the throttle,” which cut the engine.
The board said that normally, a full throttle rotation is impossible unless its trigger is pressed, but it said the trigger was stuck in the “pressed” position because of wear and debris accumulation, according to a new release.
The board says Maj. Turner tried to restart the engine, but was unsuccessful because of how low the plane was flying. It said he put off ejecting until he had brought the plane to a safe landing zone in the field.
Air Combat Command says Maj. Turner had more than 1,200 hours flying F-16s and 1,447 total flight hours. He is still flying with the Thunderbirds.
Maj. Turner met with President Barack Obama, who was attending the Academy’s graduation, shortly after the crash. ABC News reported that the president thanked the pilot for his service and said he was relieved Turner wasn’t seriously injured.
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Colorado electors appeal to state Supreme Court, arguing that state has no jurisdiction to punish
DENVER – The attorney for two Colorado electors seeking to block a state law requiring them to vote for Hillary Clinton has filed an emergency appeal with the Colorado Supreme Court to try again to have the case heard before they have to cast their electoral votes on Monday.
Polly Baca, a former state senator from Denver, and Robert Nemanich, an elector from Colorado Springs, are a part of the so-called “Hamilton electors” movement that is trying to keep President-elect out of the White House and send the election to the House of Representatives for the third time ever. They filed suit last week. Continue reading
President-elect Trump feuds over Russia reports, attacks magazine that wrote negative article
DENVER – President-elect Donald Trump again took to Twitter Thursday morning to feud with U.S. intelligence agencies over allegations that Russia interfered with the General Election, and to again denigrate a magazine that wrote an unfavorable story about one of his properties.
As national news outlets continue to publish stories citing unnamed government sources who point to Russian interference in the election and possible hacks by agents with Russian ties, Trump continued – as he has in recent weeks – to question their findings.
“If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?” Trump tweeted.
If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016
His tweet, however, is mostly false – just as it was when he said news of the hacks “wasn’t…brought up before [the] election” on Dec. 12.
The Obama Administration blamed the Russian government for hacking the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Oct. 7.
“We believe…that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a joint statement with the Department of Homeland Security that day.
But a Washington Post story and analysis by cyber-firm Crowdstrike published mid-June were the first to raise the flag that Russia may have been behind security breaches.
Only July 25, the FBI announced it was investigating the DNC breach.
Trump even raised the idea that Russia could have been behind the breach and suggested they release Clinton’s emails in his last news conference – held July 27 – though he said the next day he was being sarcastic. Yet on Oct. 9 he suggested at the second presidential debate that “maybe there is no hacking.”
Election Day was Nov. 8, and since then, more actions have been taken by the White House.
President Obama ordered a review of the alleged hacking on Dec. 9, and asked it be ready and on his desk by the time he leaves office.
And on Dec. 12, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest suggested Trump benefited from the alleged Russian meddling directly since he had praised Russian President Vladimir Putin on the campaign trail as a “strong leader.”
Earnest said Thursday at the daily press briefing it was “obvious” that Trump knew during the campaign Russia was trying to interfere in the election and added that Trump should be supporting an investigation rather than questioning it.
But the hacking allegations weren’t the president-elect’s only point of focus Thursday morning.
He started off by criticizing Vanity Fair, a longtime target of Trump’s that has also feuded with the business magnate in its pages, which published a story a day earlier with the headline “Trump Grill could be the worst restaurant in America.”
“Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of Vanity Fair Magazine,” he wrote. “Way down, big trouble, dead! [Owner] Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!”
Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016
He has a habit of taking to Twitter to attack people or news outlets that have been critical of him or his policies. Since Dec. 3, he has gone after an Indiana steel union president, Boeing, China, NBC News, CNN, the Green Party, Saturday Night Live and Alec Baldwin on the social media outlet.
Just four minutes after he criticized Vanity Fair on Twitter, he thanked Time Magazine and the Financial Times for naming him “person of the year,” which he said was “a great honor!”
Thank you to Time Magazine and Financial Times for naming me “Person of the Year” – a great honor!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016
And before tweeting about Russia, Trump fired off another tweet disparaging his favorite target: “the media,” which has rightfully scrutinized his business dealings and connections as they pertain to his soon-to-be presidency.
“The media tries so hard to make my move to the White House, as it pertains to my business, so complex – when actually it isn’t!”
The media tries so hard to make my move to the White House, as it pertains to my business, so complex – when actually it isn’t!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016
But the communications director for Trump’s transition team, Jason Miller, said just hours later that Trump’s finances were indeed complex.
Trump also canceled a news conference scheduled for this week – his first since July 27 — in which he was to discuss his business dealings and how they will be handled in his transition to the presidency, but only hours later took to Twitter to discuss the matter without taking questions.
Even though I am not mandated by law to do so, I will be leaving my busineses before January 20th so that I can focus full time on the……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016
He said he would be leaving his businesses and that his sons, Don and Eric, as well as other executives would manage them. He said “no new deals” would be done while he is in office.
Trump has made Twitter his main soapbox for making statements, most-often in lieu of speaking through traditional media outlets he does not trust. But he also failed to invite Twitter to a technology roundtable Wednesday that featured many top U.S. tech companies. Surrogates said the company was “not big enough.”
Denver man charged with child abuse after 10-week-old daughter hospitalized with serious injuries
DENVER – A Denver man has been formally charged with child abuse for allegedly causing numerous serious injuries to his infant daughter.
Shane Stringfellow, 27, is charged with three counts of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury — a third-degree felony.
Stringfellow is accused of abusing the young girl since she was born on Oct. 1. She was brought to The Children’s Hospital Dec. 12 with a broken leg, fractured ribs and injuries to her tongue and tonsils, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
His arrest affidavit says Stringfellow reported he “had fallen on the baby” and that the baby’s mother “fell while carrying the baby” at one point, but that the baby had landed in her lap.
Stringfellow also told investigators he would squeeze the baby in order to make her have a bowel movement, and that he would sometimes put his finger in her throat to make her vomit.
The affidavit says the infant girl weighed only seven pounds when she was hospitalized despite being 10-weeks-old.
The mother was also interviewed by police, but investigators determined the baby’s injuries were caused while she was in Stringfellow’s care. She is not currently facing charges.
Stringfellow has already been released from custody on a $50,000 bond and is next scheduled in court Jan. 17.
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Lawsuit filed by 18 disabled patients of Pueblo Regional Center who were strip-searched
PUEBLO, Colo. – Eighteen disabled people housed at the troubled Pueblo Regional Center and their families are suing Colorado’s governor, the Colorado Department of Human Services and a handful of former and current employees over claims they were illegally strip-searched in March 2015.
The plaintiffs and their attorneys say almost a dozen CDHS employees illegally strip-searched people housed at the center, which is operated by CDHS, without consent or a warrant. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Pueblo District Court. Continue reading
University of Colorado-Boulder students launch petition to block Milo Yiannopoulos’ campus visit
BOULDER, Colo. – Students at the University of Colorado-Boulder have launched an online petition to have the university’s chancellor to block a planned speaking engagement in January by “alt-right” British personality Milo Yiannopoulos.
The writer, who is the technology editor at Breitbart News and was banned from Twitter earlier this year for a instigating and participating in a prolonged attack against actress Leslie Jones, is in the midst of a speaking tour at universities across the country.
He is scheduled to speak at CU-Boulder on Jan. 25 at at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs the next day.
CU-Boulder’s student chapters of the College Republicans and Turning Point USA invited him for the engagement, which was approved by Chancellor Phillip DiStefano.
“Personally, I feel strongly that discrimination and harassment have no place on our campus,” DiStefano said, in part, in a news release announcing Yiannopoulos’ visit. “With that said, we must support the free exchange of ideas.”
The president of the CU College Republicans said Yiannopoulos was invited “so that students could hear about social justice issues in a unique format.”
But other students aren’t happy with the visit by the figure who has himself said he has ties to the “alt-right” – a relatively new label for conservatives who also mix in facets of racism and white nationalism into their beliefs.
The petition, launched at Change.org, says Yiannopoulos “complains about ‘liberals’ and ‘feminazis’ suppressing his free speech while raking in thousands of dollars on his university speaking tour.”
“Yiannopolous is not a journalist according to any respectable definition of that word; he is a racist, sexist, reactionary opportunist who makes a comfortable living off sensationalism,” the petition says. “To deny him the privilege of speaking at our esteemed university is not to infringe on his (or anyone’s) freedom of speech.”
Yiannopoulos has already seen two universities cancel his visits, and another was postponed.
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Denver police detective resigned after caught at work high on prescription meds he got from niece
DENVER – A longtime Denver Police Department detective resigned in late November following an internal affairs investigation that started in May when he came to a meeting under the influence of prescription narcotics.
Det. Daniel Wiley resigned from the department on Nov. 23, according to records obtained from DPD by Denver7.
A copy of the internal affairs investigation provided to Denver7 says several officers attending a May 23 Fugitive Task Force meeting noticed Wiley’s “speech was slow and slurred” and that he appeared “barely coherent.”
Denver Police Department rules require any officers who believe another officer is working under the influence of drugs or alcohol to report to their supervisor. Likewise, any officers taking prescription drugs are required to tell their superiors.
Two officers took Wiley to the Occupation Health Medical Clinic, where a urine test came up positive for opiates, according to the investigation.
Once back at the station, Wiley was accompanied to his patrol car to retrieve his belongings since he was to be suspended from driving.
While getting things out of the vehicle, he pulled out an Advil bottle that the accompanying officer asked to look at. Inside, the officer found “at least four” different types of pills. Some of them were later identified as Hydrocodone, Percocet and Xanax.
Wiley admitted to investigators he had taken Xanax the night before and when he arrived to work that day, but said “he does not consider himself addicted,” according to the internal affairs report. He admitted to also taking Percocet that day.
He eventually told investigators he had gotten the pills illegally from his niece, and pointed to a bicep injury from the year before – for which he was originally prescribed painkillers but said he continued to suffer pain from — and a recent divorce as reasons for getting the pills.
“I had a very tough time functioning and I just wanted to make it through the day,” Wiley told investigators, according to the report.
Wiley resigned prior to any disciplinary action. Some portions of the internal affairs summary provided to Denver7 was heavily redacted.
No charges related to that instance of drug possession have been brought forth so far.
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Colorado ‘Hamilton Electors’ file appeal in 10th Circuit in continued attempt to not elect Trump
DENVER – The two Colorado electors who saw their attempts to get a state law that requires them to vote for the winner of the state’s popular vote for president dashed by a federal judge Monday filed an appeal Tuesday in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Monday, U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge Wiley Daniel denied Polly Baca and Robert Nemanich’s motion for a temporary restraining order that would have blocked the state law that now requires they vote for Hillary Clinton, since she won Colorado’s popular vote. Continue reading