HIDDEN GEMS The metro area holds many standout buildings P14
75 CENTS
April 18, 2019
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
Case against Barrentine dismissed District 3 city councilmember was charged over incident that followed meeting BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler, whose district includes Englewood, called the building special and hopes the public sees it as a place of “safety, peace and as a place you can go and know the law is going to protect you,” he said at the ceremony. “I can’t do my job well if these men and women (of the police department) aren’t awesome, and they are,” Brauchler said, adding the new building will help the police department do its job effectively. Officials from DLR Group, Adolfson & Peterson Construction, and the real estate firm CBRE — companies that worked on the project — spoke at the event.
Charges that Englewood City Councilmember Laurett Barrentine harassed the city clerk and caused a disturbance after a council meeting in August have been dismissed, according to a letter from the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. “Our job is only to assess whether there is sufficient evidence to go to trial, not to render judgments on whether any citizen’s behavior is Barrentine appropriate or professional,” Brian Sugioka, chief deputy district attorney, wrote in an April 12 letter to the Englewood Police Department. Barrentine had been charged with harassment and disorderly conduct for an incident alleged to have occurred Aug. 27 after a study session, a public city council meeting at the Englewood Civic Center. Details about the incident had not previously been made public because the police report was considered evidence not available for public release in an open case, according to the DA’s office. Barrentine said the DA’s office saw through “contradicting statements,” and she said she “handled a difficult situation with the professionalism our citizens expect.”
SEE POLICE, P8
SEE BARRENTINE, P4
Englewood police salute as officers unfold the flag to hoist it up the pole April 11 at a ceremony to celebrate the opening of the city’s new police headquarters. ELLIS ARNOLD
Officers, city celebrate new police headquarters Facility designed to foster community, designers say BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
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ne of the flashiest buildings in Englewood isn’t residential — it’s the new Englewood Police Department headquarters. “This is a 113-year-old police department getting a 21st-century building,” Englewood Mayor Linda Olson said at the April 11 ceremony to celebrate the new facility’s opening. The old headquarters — at the same location — was built in 1972
and wasn’t up to modern standards of security and accessibility, police said. Police Chief John Collins, Olson, Interim City Manager Dorothy Hargrove and members of the team who worked on the project addressed a crowd of about 100 under the high ceiling in a building intended to feel welcoming for the public. “To have this community step up in the way you did to support the police department, I can’t thank you enough,” Collins said. “It’s your building.” Voters passed a $27 million bond in 2016 to fund the new building at 3615 S. Elati St., which offers about 50,000 square feet compared to the 19,000 square feet of usable space at the old station.
THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
“We’ll always remember that horrific day, but Columbine represents hope.” Frank DeAngelis, former principal of Columbine High School | Page 7 INSIDE
VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 21
EnglewoodHerald.net
VOLUME 99 | ISSUE 9