Headlines — January 05, 2023

January 5, 2023

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National Western Stock Show To Hold Kick-off Parade At Noon

The National Western Stock Show will hold its kick-off parade today in downtown Denver starting at 12 noon. The parade starts at Union Station, 17th & Wynkoop with the parade ending at 17th and Glenarm. The parade will not only include marching bands and floats but a western flavor of cattle, horses, and tractors. Dr. Temple Grandin, academic and animal behaviorist, will be the parade’s Grand Marshall.

Denver Police Officer Faces Grand Jury Charges In Connection With Shooting Outside Of LoDo Bar 

A grand jury has indicted Denver police officer Brandon Ramos on criminal charges related to a July incident in which police opened fire into a crowd as bars let out near the intersection of Larimer and 20th streets. Ramos allegedly shot five bystanders while firing at a man police say was armed. Ramos faces 14 charges that include assault, reckless endangerment, and the prohibited use of a weapon. The grand jury indictment released Wednesday says Ramos’ decision to open fire in the crowd’s direction was reckless, unreasonable, and unnecessary. 

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann has indicated the two other officers who opened fire will not face criminal charges because prosecutors and the grand jury found their actions to be legally justified.  

The shooting injured six bystanders with five experiencing gunshot wounds primarily to their limbs. 

State Health Department Closing Remaining COVID-19 Community Testing Sites 

The State Health Department announced Wednesday it will shut down the remaining COVID-19 testing sites by Jan. 15. Colorado currently operates 20 sites but ran 150 sites during the height of the pandemic. State health officials say the availability of more at-home tests has lessened the demand for community testing sites and demand has also dropped consistently over the last several months fluctuating between 3-6% of overall capacity.

Testing will transition to traditional health care settings with the state providing free at-home tests through 200 distribution points across Colorado. Coloradans can still order free tests through a federal program. Free testing at schools is expected to continue through the end of this school year and long-term and residential care facilities will still receive rapid tests as needed.

Boulder To Host Candidate Forum For Independent Police Monitor Finalists 

Boulder announced on Wednesday the city has selected three finalists for the independent police monitor position left open by Joey Lipari who resigned last September. The three finalists are Mac Muir, who recently served as the Supervising Investigator for the Civilian Complaint Review Board for the City of New York; Cathy Rodriguez, who is the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training Compliance Manager; and Gina Torres, who currently serves as a Police Monitor for the Albany Community Police Review Board.

Boulder officials will host a virtual candidate forum for the public next Wednesday, Jan. 11, starting at 6 p.m. where a moderator will ask the candidates questions submitted by community members. The event will be live streamed on YouTube and available on Zoom for those who sign up in advance. 

Mountain Lions Attacking And Killing Dogs In Nederland Neighborhoods

A little more than a week ago, two days after Christmas, a Gilpin County resident stared down a mountain lion. It was attacking their dog. The resident took aim with a firearm, shot, and killed it. State law prohibits the killing of mountain lions without a license—even if the lion is attacking and killing dogs—but Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are not pressing charges due to the “totality of circumstances.”

Mountain lions killed 15 dogs in 30 days in the Nederland area this fall. This adult mountain lion had ear tags, which indicates it was the same animal that had been relocated from the CU campus in 2021. Eyewitnesses to several of the dog attacks this fall, say that the lion—or lions—did not have ear tags. 

It’s estimated that approximately four lions live per 36 square miles in this area stretching from the Continental Divide east to I-25. And while the state typically offers two licenses to hunt mountain lions a year in this region – no tags have been filled since 2005—that means no lions killed in or around Boulder in 18 years. Statewide about 500 mountain lions are killed each year. 

Crash Detection Feature From Skier iPhones Creating Surge Of Non-Emergency Calls To 911 Dispatch Centers

Emergency Dispatch operators in the state’s ski areas are fielding a record number of automatic crash detection calls from skiers who wear the Apple 14 iPhone or watches, as the devices automatically call 911 when detecting a sudden stop by the user. The technology is meant to serve users when they experience a car crash. According to the Colorado Sun, all of the automatic calls that came into the mountain area dispatch centers during December did not involve car crashes, but snowy tumbles and non-emergency situations on the ski slopes. 

If skiers do not return a call from a dispatcher, emergency service operators will contact ski patrollers to check on the skier by sharing the latitude and longitude coordinates from the automatic call. Emergency dispatchers say the technology and the high number of non-emergency situations could delay response to a 911 caller with a real emergency as each 911 call is handled in the order it arrives. Dispatch supervisors say Apple is aware of skier tumbles causing inadvertent 911 calls by the technology and the company has told them they are working on a fix. 

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