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12_2_24_Headlines Jackie Sedley
Colorado Springs police sergeant allegedly intimidated girl who accused him of inappropriate conduct
A Colorado Springs police sergeant allegedly confronted a 10-year-old girl who had accused him of inappropriately touching her, and intimidated her to get her to take back her statement.
That’s according to an arrest affidavit against 58-year-old Glenn Eric Thomas, who was arrested last month and charged with victim intimidation and tampering. Thomas also faces three counts of violating a protection order. He has not been charged with inappropriate sexual conduct.
The girl, who was staying at Thomas’s house earlier this year, told multiple people – including a social worker and Woodland Park police – that the officer reached under her shirt and touched her while she appeared to be asleep. When interviewed by police, Thomas denied the allegations. Hours later, he confronted the 10-year-old, repeatedly asking her whether she was lying and telling her she could be arrested. That’s also according to the affidavit.
In later interviews with police, the girl said she told Thomas her accusations were a lie because she was afraid he would hurt her, and that he’d punished her for “lying” and “telling stories” when she told the truth in the past.
The Woodland Park sexual-contact investigation into Thomas was inactive as of Oct. 9, according to The Denver Post. Officials previously told KOAA-TV they’d closed that case because probable cause could not be established.
Aurora City Council to remove pitbull ban
Pitbulls are officially legal in Aurora again.
Aurora City Council officially voted last night to repeal a decades-old ban that prohibited residents from owning pitbulls within city limits. Residents voted 56% in favor of removing the ban during the November election.
The breed was first banned back in 2005, and continually banned by voters when reconsidered in 2014.
City Council voted to remove the ban from city ordinances in 2021, without bringing the issue back to voters. That decision brought a lawsuit from a resident, leading a district court judge to rule that any change to the ban would actually require a citizen vote. That’s according to 9News.
After the code changes, there will no longer be a breed-specific ban; instead, city code will more broadly include language on deadline with “aggressive” or “dangerous” animals. The final reading for the updated ordinance will take place on December 16, and will go into effect on January 18 of next year.
Colorado family seeks justice after dog was stolen
A dog was stolen and thrown from a moving vehicle in Commerce City.
The family said the dog went missing on November 23 and only a few days later was seen on a Commerce City Police Department post. The police found him after a citizen saw 12-year-old dog Rambo thrown from the passenger side of a moving vehicle.
Officers took Rambo to an emergency veterinarian clinic, but staff had to put him down because of his broken spine.
Whoever threw the dog out the window faces felony aggravated animal cruelty charges. Police are continuing to investigate the matter, and urge anyone with information on the dog-napper to contact the department.
Colorado Dems criticize Biden’s pardon of his son
A handful of top-billed Colorado Democrats took to the social media platform X to criticize President Joe Biden’s pardon for his son Hunter Biden.
Governor Jared Polis expressed via X that he was disappointed to see Biden putting his own family ahead of the country. Polis expressed concern that it could set a precedent for future presidents to abuse the use of a pardon.
Senator Michael Bennett, who represents Colorado at the U.S. Capitol, also took to X to say, “President Biden’s decision put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all.” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser agreed with Bennett via X.
Across the aisle, Republican Lauren Boebert posted, “Is this the ‘privilege’ we’ve heard so much of?”.
The pardon came during the last few weeks of Biden’s presidency, after he repeatedly pledged not to pardon his son. Hunter Biden was convicted in June for three separate felony counts. He also pleaded guilty to nine tax evasion charges in September.
CU Anschutz researchers receive up to $46 million to cure blindness
Researchers at CU Anschutz will receive as much as $46 million in federal funding to try and cure blindness.
The funding will be doled out over the next five years, as Anschutz pursues a first-of-its-kind full eye transplant. CU’s research is part of a national effort to cure blindness. The local team was one of four in the U.S. that received funding awards from the federal Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H.
The CU-based group will focus on achieving the first-ever vision-restoring eye transplant by using “novel stem cell and bioelectronic technologies,” according to a news release.
The Denver Post reports that only four organ systems have not been successfully transplanted before: the inner ear, the brain, the spinal cord, and the eye. All four are part of the central nervous system, which does not repair itself when damaged.
