Posted on 03/03/2020 7:59:55 AM PST by real saxophonist
Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams has been one of the most vocal critics against red flag laws since Colorado legislators started considering it in 2019.
When he learned an inmate in the Weld County Jail used the law to ask a judge to remove weapons from Reams and a unit in the jail, he was frustrated to see it being abused in the ways against which he warned.
On Feb. 25, Weld District Chief Judge James Hartmann reviewed and denied a temporary extreme risk protection order filed by an inmate of the jail. Reams learned of the petition later that day, when Hartmann forwarded him the dismissal. The inmate will not be named at the request of Reams due to a concern the inmate is seeking notoriety through frivolous complaints.
Deputies “carry shotguns inside the jail intimidating and excessively abusing inmates with these shotguns,” the inmate wrote in the complaint. “These deputys (sic) carry these deadly weapons 24 hours a day patrolling the floors of this jail intimidating and threatening people for the most minor things.”
The “shotguns” the inmate referenced are actually less-than-lethal weapons used by a specialized team of deputies in the jail for situations with enhanced security risks. Hartmann determined the inmate failed to show the deputies posed “a significant risk of causing personal injury to self or others in the near future.”
The law allows family members, roommates or law enforcement to petition courts for an extreme risk protection order. The inmate claimed he regularly resides with Reams and the jail deputies, a question Hartmann did not address. Reams said they’re reviewing the petition front and back to see if any criminal charges apply.
When a Fort Collins woman filed a petition against a Colorado State University police officer and falsely said they shared a child together, police issued an arrest warrant on suspicion of perjury, The Denver Post reported.
“I don’t know that the law doesn’t allow for him to use that interpretation,” Reams said. “I don’t know that I could say he perjured himself at this point based on how poorly this law is written.”
The inmate has a history of filing complaints about the jail since his arrest in May 2016. His two ongoing court cases in Weld County have been delayed by mental competency evaluations and mental health commitment in March 2018, according to online court records.
The inmate wrote to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in March 2018 that a fellow inmate was shot “at least seven times” in October 2017, prompting an inquiry. Reams said he wasn’t aware of any progress on the inquiry, and a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not return a call seeking updates.
Despite the complaint, Reams said, employees of the jail have not had to use any force against the inmate.
Reams said he wasn’t sure why the inmate filed the petition, but he said he’d like to see the inmate’s court cases completed, so the inmate would no longer be in his facility.
“He’s very frustrated with being in the facility. He’s been there for quite some time,” Reams said. “He’s definitely entertained himself with letter writings to whomever will listen.”
Reams said he will not enforce any red flag orders sent to his office, on the basis that he interprets the law to be unconstitutional. Though advocates for the law may say the judge’s dismissal shows there are safeguards in place, Reams said things could have played out differently.
“It was probably fortunate in the way (the inmate) is well known to the court system here, so that probably raised a few red flags,” he said. “Had it been any other inmate or judge who was not necessarily aware of (the inmate) or the environment that he comes from, I don’t know that the outcome would have been the same.”
— Trevor Reid covers public safety issues for the Greeley Tribune. Connect with Trevor at (970) 392-4492, treid@greeleytribune.com or on Twitter, @treid71.
Someone needs to file on every body guard that every politician has.
“....Someone needs to file on every body guard that every politician has....”
Yep...and the politicians & Judges too! What use would FineSwine have for a handgun or an AR15????
And every Hollywood and media figure which employs a hired security detail with guns. And that's all of them.
The only time I recall anything ever being brought into the facility was when I worked at Auburn in the early 80's. They had one large mess hall, with an enclosed gas booth set on the back wall, close to the ceiling. For breakfast, lunch and supper meals, while the facility was shut down for the count, and all inmates were in their cells, the officer who was assigned to cover the gas booth during the meals, would receive containers of gas that they would have to carry through the facility yard, and into the locked gas booth, and remain there throughout the meal. There was a special gas dispenser system installed in the booth, so the officer was there just in case there was ever a problem in the mess hall, and he could respond. However, at the time, I believe it was only a Captain or above who could authorize the use of gas. Once the mess hall was closed, and the inmates were all back in their cells, the officer would return the cans of gas back to the arsenal.
Not only will show the idiocy and piss them off, but I really am afraid of unstable democrats.
For those of you who are interested in this issue:
The 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Amendments in the Bill of Rights are violated by Red Flag Laws:
Amendment 2 - The Right to Bear Arms
A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.
Amendment 4 - Protection from Unreasonable Searches and Seizures
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment 5 - Protection of Rights to Life, Liberty, and Property
No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
Amendment 6 - Rights of Accused Persons in Criminal Cases
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Amendment 8 - Excessive Bail, Fines, and Punishments Forbidden
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment 9 - Other Rights Kept by the People
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 10 - Undelegated Powers Kept by the States and the People
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
The Second Amendment preserved the existing RTKBA, but it did NOT legalize armed assault.Likewise, the First Amendment preserved the existing freedom of the press but did not legalize libel.
The unanimous New York Times Co. v. Sullivan 1964 decision (of the Warren Court at it liberal zenith) justified trammeling politicians’ and judges’ right to sue for libel with the claim that
". . . libel can claim no talismanic immunity from constitutional limitations. It must be measured by standards that satisfy the First Amendment”The claim that the First Amendment has anything at all to do with the right to sue for libel is a con.And Sullivan is why journalists feel free to libel conservatives.
What gas?
We were using CS and CN gas at the time. I've been retired since 2003, so I'm not sure if they've changed what type of chemical agents they now use. We were trained in use of the gas gun which would hold CN and CS canister projectiles. Most were like grenades that had slow fuses. Some broke apart...others looked like little rockets with wings.
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