Castle pines news press 0123

Page 1

1-Color

January 23, 2014

Free Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 1, Issue 25 A publication of

castlepinesnewspress.net

Judge hears open-records case Ruling awaits in retired cop’s case against town By Virginia Grantier

vgrantier@coloradocommunitymedia. com A retired Nevada police sergeant, Michael Cardella, now of Castle Rock, said he is concerned that a Castle Rock police officer — whom Cardella alleges he saw spinning around and firing his rifle blindly while in pursuit of a burglary suspect in

February — is still on the streets. And that’s why he says he wants access right now to documents on the internal investigation instead of waiting, like law enforcement wants, until after the completion of criminal prosecution of the burglary suspects. “Criminal cases can extend well past a year…and in that period of time, the officer that fired the rifle is still on the streets,” Cardella told the News-Press after a bench trial in front of District Court Judge Paul King at the Douglas County Justice Center Jan. 16.

Cardella and his wife, Susan Cardella, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, filed suit in November against the Town of Castle Rock, its police chief and town clerk. Cardella, a 35-year police veteran, told the News-Press that what he witnessed is not proper protocol nor is it consistent with the way he was trained. According to the Cardellas’ lawsuit, Castle Rock Police Officer Terry Watts fired several rounds from a high-powered rifle in a residential area — near the corner of Mango Drive and South Plum Creek

AT THE COW WASH

Boulevard — at an SUV driven by an unarmed burglary suspect as the suspect approached and drove past the officer. “The officer’s lines of fire covered a nearby school (which was in session), shopping centers, offices and parking lots,” according to the complaint. And one bullet did strike the Cardellas’ car when both were inside, according to the complaint. Castle Rock Police Chief Jack Cauley released a statement after the suit was filed: Ruling continues on Page 9

New council experiences first meeting Castle Pines’ officials begin tackling city business By Virginia Grantier

vgrantier @coloradocommunitymedia.com

A young man and woman work together to wash a cow as they begin to prepare the animal for the judging show at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. The show opened Jan. 11 and there are livestock judging, shows and sales as well as entertainment and special events like rodeos and horse shows going on every day until the stock show closes Jan. 26. Photo by Tom Munds

Portal matches volunteers, opportunities Range of openings listed on county website By Chris Michlewicz

cmichlewicz @coloradocommunitymedia.com A newly launched online “portal” matches volunteers with opportunities based on their areas of interest. Douglas County residents are known for giving back, and the recent introduction of www.VolunteerConnectDC.org makes it much easier. Organized by the Partnership of Douglas County Governments, a group composed of local municipalities, the site is already populated with announcements for more than 300 volunteer positions. Ali Ayres, district volunteer services supervisor for Douglas County Libraries, says Portal continues on Page 11

It’s a new year with some new faces on Castle Pines City Council. Jan. 14 was the first council meeting for new Councilmembers Resa Labossiere and Rex Lucas. They take over for outgoing Councilmembers Kathy Des Rosiers and Kim Hoffman, who decided not to run for another term in the November election. Also present was new Councilmember Roger Addlesperger, who defeated Councilmember Jaime Edwards in the election. They join oldtimers Mayor Jeff Huff, re-elected in November for a four-year term; and councilmembers Tera Radloff, James Einolf and Marc Towne, whose terms expire in 2016. The other new face at the meeting was Gregg Fisher, newly elected to the city treasurer spot, replacing Mark Shively, who chose not to run for another term. In a new spot, but not new, is Diane Spomer, who was the deputy city clerk, but is now the city’s first appointed city clerk. Voters decided in November to change the city clerk position from an elected one to an appointed one. “We’re off to a new adventure,” said Addlesperger, after his first council meeting — but it wasn’t his first-ever meeting about Castle Pines issues. Addlesperger has lived in Castle Pines for about 27 years and served on the firstever Castle Pines North Metropolitan District. Addlesperger, a former land-acquisition manager for a major homebuilder, has said he wanted to get involved again in the decision-making process because he’s worried the city could become a place of strip malls in light of recent annexations involving lands that have heavy commercial zoning.

A Douglas County Libraries volunteer helps a patron learn computer skills. Courtesy photo

Council continues on Page 9

ShopLocalColorado.com

Visit the all new P O W E R E D

B Y

Local Ads, Coupons, Special Offers & More


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.