Author: Julia Cardi
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DEA’s Rocky Mountain region seized enough fentanyl in 2022 to kill almost every Colorado resident
The Rocky Mountain division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 5.8 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl last year in Colorado, Utah, Montana and Wyoming, the agency announced in a news release Monday. That included almost 2 million pills and more than 150 pounds of powder. The most recent U.S. census data…
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Colorado board reviewing domestic violence deaths finds highest number since its inception
Deaths in Colorado related to domestic violence jumped in 2021, according to a review board that classifies these fatalities. A new report from the Colorado Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board suggests abusers’ access to guns and the COVID-19 pandemic likely contributed to the spike. But underlying patterns in predominantly female victims and male perpetrators persist.…
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Denver’s new top law enforcement watchdog confirmed by City Council
Denver City Council confirmed the new leader for the city’s Office of the Independent Monitor, filling a two-year vacancy. Former public defender Lisabeth Castle, later a defense lawyer with her own practice, was confirmed Tuesday. The city’s law enforcement watchdog agency monitors investigations of Denver’s safety officers, makes recommendations about discipline and policy to the…
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Interim director appointed for VA Rocky Mountain Network
The Department of Veterans Affairs appointed Sunaina Kumar-Giebel as interim director of the VA Rocky Mountain Network, according to a Monday news release. Kumar-Giebel is currently the network’s deputy director and chief operating officer. She replaces the previous director, Ralph Gigliotti, who retired after a 40-year federal government career, according to the release. The role…
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Judge sides with civil rights firm in lawsuit over fees brought by Elijah McClain’s mother
A Denver judge has ruled civil rights firm Killmer Lane & Newman can claim about $3 million as its fee from a $15 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Elijah McClain’s parents when he died following an encounter with Aurora police in August 2019. The 23-year-old died at a hospital several days…
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Denver judge sides with civil rights firm in lawsuit over fees brought by Elijah McClain’s mother
A Denver judge has ruled civil rights firm Killmer Lane & Newman can claim about $3 million as its fee from a $15 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Elijah McClain’s parents when he died following an encounter with Aurora police in August 2019. The 23-year-old died at a hospital several days…
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Man suspected in Kingdom Hall murder-suicide made threats against wife, union rep
The man accused of shooting his wife and then himself in a murder-suicide on Christmas Day in Thornton outside a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses previously threatened to shoot his wife and a local union representative last year, court records show. The threats prompted his former employer, Sturgeon Electric Company, to file for a protection…
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Flawed analysis led to reinstating corrections employee after off-duty fatal shooting: Appeals court
Colorado’s Court of Appeals has said an administrative law judge made mistakes when she decided to reinstate a beleaguered Department of Corrections worker fired after fatally shooting a teenager in 2020. A decision last week by the appeals court doesn’t outright uphold his firing, but directs the administrative law judge to redo her analysis based…
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Sunshine Wildland Fire prompts evacuations in Boulder County; blaze now 40% contained
Emergency officials lifted evacuation warnings around 5 p.m. Monday within Boulder city limits for areas between Linden and University Avenues after a fire broke out in the area of Sunshine Canyon. Shortly after evacuation orders lifted, officials estimated its size decreased from 18 to 16 acres. Officials from Boulder’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) reported…
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Aurora interim chief on open communication and justice reform
Aurora’s interim police chief Art Acevedo is no stranger to tumult in his career. Acevedo officially took over Dec. 5 for Dan Oates, Aurora’s former police chief, who had returned to the department to lead in an interim role for about six months. Oates helped recruit Acevedo for the job. Acevedo has run a law…