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Headlines — January 06, 2023

January 6, 2023

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Headlines — January 06, 2023 Stacie Johnson

Boulder City Council Approves Pilot Response Program For Nonviolent 911 Calls

The Boulder City Council approved a pilot program Thursday that will deploy a team of behavioral health and medical professionals to respond to non-violent emergency 911 calls. The program will also include case managers to handle follow-up cases.

The Daily Camera reports Boulder has named the new program Health Equity Assistance Team or HEART following a recommendation by Councilperson Lauren Folkerts. The city hopes the new program will free up law enforcement’s time towards more crime related matters and will begin this year.

Law Enforcement Review Says Glass Posed No Lethal Threat For Deadly Force Used By Clear Creek County Officer

Investigators from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office released this week their review of the law enforcement killing of 22-year-old Christian Glass who called 911 for help last summer after crashing his car into a berm near Silver Plume. Glass’ mother said in a September news conference that her son was having a mental health episode and was petrified the night he was killed.

Among the findings in the 72 page report, investigators found that Clear Creek County Sheriff Deputy Andrew Buen had no reason to use any force on Glass. The report alleges Deputy Buen made several policy errors in his interactions with Glass, and failed to create space between himself and Glass after Glass picked up a knife.

The Denver Post reports that Clear Creek County Sheriff Rick Albers requested the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office to conduct the internal affairs investigation into Buen on Nov. 3 and did not open an investigation within the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

Last September, Glass’ parents prompted a criminal investigation into the shooting after their lawyers released body camera footage covering the incident. A grand jury in November indicted Buen and the supervising officer, Kyle Gould with criminal charges. In response to the report, Glass’ parents say they are troubled that there is not an investigation into all the officers who were at the scene of their son’s murder.

Aurora Police Seize 80K Pills Laced With Fentanyl

Aurora police said in a statement Thursday investigators have seized more than 80,000 pills laced with fentanyl after searching an Aurora home and two vehicles in late December. Police say they have arrested a suspect from the case and the seizure was a result of a four-month investigation after officers received information about illicit drugs being advertised on social media platforms.

Denver Waste Crews Will No Longer Collect And Compost Christmas Trees Left In Alleys

Denver officials say city waste crews will no longer collect and compost Christmas trees left in alleys and instead are urging residents to haul their holiday trees to one of several drop-off locations or chop them up for placement in a green compost bin. For any trees that residents leave in alleys, city crews will handle the trees with large-item pickups that are eventually disposed of in landfills.

A Denver spokesperson told the Colorado Sun only 11% of the city’s customers take part in tree recycling and the drop-off approach will free up resources to continue the monthly large item pickups favored by residents and that were normally skipped in January during prior years of collecting trees. Randy Moorman of Eco-Cycle says Denver’s approach is disappointing as live Christmas trees with no decorations are very compostable and should not go into a landfill, where they will contribute to methane emissions.

Starting this month, Denver is switching to a fee-based system for residential garbage with residents paying more for larger trash bins and no charges for compost and recycling bins.

State Health Department Urging Residents To Test Homes For Radon During January

Gov. Jared Polis and state health department officials are encouraging Colorado residents to test their homes for radon during January, the National Radon Action Month, using low-cost test kits made available by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. The state health department says radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas with no color, odor, or taste and nearly half the homes in Colorado have high radon levels, which can make adults, children, and pets susceptible to negative health effects including lung cancer. Health officials say testing should be done when all doors and windows are closed in a home, which makes January the best time of year to do the test.

Fort Collins Closes LaPorte Avenue For Five Months To Replace Aging Bridges

The City of Fort Collins has closed a section of LaPorte Avenue between Taft Hill Road and Grandview Avenue near the cemetery for five months as crews attempt to replace two of the city’s oldest bridges that go over the New Mercer Canal. According to the city, the section will be closed to all vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic but the city will maintain access for residents and businesses. Crews will be working on the bridge replacement project while the irrigation canal is not running. City officials say once the road section reopens, crews will then work on building separated bike lanes and pedestrian pathways which will be completed in August.